John Goliath
AN exciting era for Springbok rugby starts on Saturday, and new coach Allister Coetzee made a few lovely jokes on Thursday as he announced the first-ever Bok team of his tenure.
“I don’t talk about tickets or (the allocation) of Test matches!” Coetzee said on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s series opener against Ireland, referring to former coach Nick Mallett, who was fired in 2000 after complaining about the price of Test match tickets.
Coetzee also gave a fancy answer to a journalist, who asked what the Bok coach thought about the ANC Youth League’s threat to disrupt Test matches. But, what the journalist didn’t know was SA Rugby and the ANCYL had released a statement on Wednesday that there will be peace in our land when the rugby is on the go over the next three Saturdays.
The ANCYL was upset about the make-up of previous Springbok teams, and felt these weren’t representative of the country’s demographics.
However, Coetzee, who coached in Super Rugby with transformed Stormers teams, was bullish about his first team, which included 10 black players in his 23-man squad and six in his starting line-up.
“What party do you support sir?” Coetzee asked the journalist, who looked a bit flustered after some giggles in the room, before setting the record straight.
“What we are busy doing and what we are continuing to do is to select the best team that will represent this country. And, whoever is not happy with the team, unfortunately there is nothing I can do about that.
“This team is really representative of our country and I’m really happy with that.”
Coetzee succeeded Heyneke Meyer, whose contract wasn’t renewed after the Boks finished third at last year’s World Cup, which included a humiliating defeat against minnows Japan.
Coetzee, a decorated former Saru and Eastern Province scrumhalf, seems to be itching to get that first Test under his belt after months of preparation.
The players have been together for two weeks now after a camp in Stellenbosch, before moving to the city to prepare for the first Test at Newlands.
“I’m excited to have announced the first team to represent the Springboks in the first Test of 2016.
“It’s the start of a new era for the Springboks,” Coetzee said yesterday in his opening remarks in front of a packed press conference at the team’s hotel.
“We are all excited, we are all ready to play and we all want to do our best. It obviously hasn’t been an easy team selection.
“I’m proud of the fact that there is so much competitiveness in the squad. I am proud of the fact that the players have brought a massive intensity and work-rate to the training these past two weeks. We wanted to become one team, and we have achieved that goal.”
Newlands is obviously a special venue for the Coetzee, having spent eight years with Western Province and Stormers before leaving for Japan in 2015.
It’s going to be nice for him to sit in a coach’s box that is familiar to him, and seeing the people who helped to quench his insatiable need for coffee.
But he doesn’t want to make his first Test about himself. It’s all about the team for “Toetie”.
“Newlands is a special venue, but it’s not about me. It’s not my first Test, it’s our first Test as a group, as a collective,” Coetzee said. “We want to start off well. It’s at home, and we are looking forward to the atmosphere at Newlands. It’s a great venue to kick off.”