Bullish Meyer goes back to Blue coaching roots

WHILE a resurgent England have had to start a fresh search for a backline coach ahead of their tour here in June, Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer will more or less get what he wants when his support staff are unveiled today.

Meyer is expected to be joined by former Bulls coaching colleagues Johan van Graan (forwards), Ricardo Loubscher (backline), John McFarland (defence) as well as fitness guru Basil Carzis.

They may not represent the absolute cream of what world rugby has to offer, but their familiarity with Meyer's expectations weighed heavily in their appointment.

The quartet is contracted to the Bulls and the South African Rugby Union (Saru) will part with a purported R2.5-million to secure their release.

Meyer's staff is also likely to include former Western Province senior professional coach Rassie Erasmus, who will be deployed across Saru's coaching structures. Erasmus was a consultant during the Springboks' failed World Cup campaign last season. Meyer will manage Saru's coaching structures while Erasmus will be charged with implementation.

Meanwhile, Meyer has arranged three planning camps over the next month to prepare for the tour against England.

Players from the Lions and Cheetahs will meet in Pretoria from tomorrow to Thursday, followed by players from the Bulls and Sharks next Monday (April 23-26). The Stormers players will meet in Cape Town from May 1-3.

"We won't have a lot of time to prepare for England, but these sessions will greatly assist in getting the players ready for when we get together a week before the first test.

"We've planned these camps in accordance with their bye weekends. There won't be any intense field training during our sessions - it will be mostly theoretical planning sessions as well as walk-through sessions of our planned plays," said Meyer.