Players yay, coaches nay!
Of the top 20 teams at the 54th Craven Week, only one has a black mentor
Craven Week and its Youth Week siblings have always been SA Rugby's transformation crown jewels, and rightly so.
The on-field numbers and the subsequent performances by black players have permanently debunked the myth of quotas weakening the game.
Every side has to have 11 players of colour in its match-day 23 from the Learners with Special Needs week in the first week of the July school holidays to the showpiece.
With the need for transformation an overarching one, the 54th edition starting at St Stithians College in Randburg tomorrow will only see one black head coach - Mphumzi Mpande of Border Country Districts - in the 20 teams.
Considering that out of the top 20 South African rugby schools, according to the various rankings, only one has a black head coach (Mziwakhe Nkosi - King Edward VII School), this statistic isn't surprising.
Former Springbok Sevens coach and current Stormers defence coach Paul Treu said the same initiative seen in the success of the on-field transformation programme needs to be transplanted to the coaching section...
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