Allister Coetzee must be very careful about the mixed signals he is sending out as Springbok coach. It’s a sign of weakness, and gives the people who want him to fail the ammunition to shoot him down.
I'm specifically talking about his utterances about young Sharks flyhalf Garth April over the last few weeks.
April was the first name out of the Bok coach’s mouth last month when he announced his 31-man squad for the three-Test series against Ireland. Here are some of his quotes from that team announcement.
“Garth April showed tremendous composure when he was chucked into the deep end when he played against Toulouse overseas (in a pre-season game for the Sharks in France),” said Coetzee. “Garth April is one of those flyhalves who can really take it to the line and also has a good kicking game. I like the way Garth has shown composure as a youngster at 10 in top games.”
But the following was actually the quote that got my attention.
“And I think it’s important to note that one shouldn’t be scared to expose your young flyhalves early at that level. Because when New Zealand do it and bring a (Lima) Sopoaga to Ellis Park and they play against the Boks and they win the Test, then it’s really great from the New Zealanders. And we are actually scared to do that.”
But yesterday, after a couple days in which he lost his first Test match as coach of the Boks and top flyhalf Pat Lambie and then decided to call up Morne Steyn for the rest of the series, he made a U-turn on why he actually included April in his squad.
“Garth April is still a talented young man and was selected to learn and to develop. It is his first year in Super Rugby and his involvement with the squad will benefit him in the long run.”
It now looks like April was just named in the squad because of the colour of his skin and not his ability as player, because this last quote is an indication that Morne Steyn will be in the match-day 23 ahead of April for the second Test at Ellis Park on Saturday.
I would agree that April is still raw and Test rugby is a different beast, but then Coetzee should have come out and said from the start that this youngster was included to learn, that he was included because he has the potential to one day wear the green and gold.
But this is a trend as far as Springbok coaches are concerned, as they tend to buckle under the pressure and go the conservative route when the going gets tough.
You just have to go back to the previous two Springbok coaches to see how they caved when the heat was on, in terms of selection and game plan. Both reverted to a conservative, “passion will see us through” game plan, while they also kept faith with certain players who were either injured or over the hill going into the last two World Cups.
Going back to Morne Steyn seems like a panic selection, and the only way to bounce back from Saturday afternoon’s debacle is to go back to the future.
You would think that Coetzee, a man of great rugby sense and a guy with a thick skin, would learn from those lessons in the past and not really care what the public thinks. You would think that, despite the defeat, he would stick to his guns because it will only benefit South African rugby in the long run.
The last two coaches of the Springboks didn’t leave their own legacy, because they were still surviving on Jake White’s. If Coetzee wants to leave a legacy, he needs to back himself and not retreat into his shell in the face of danger. - Cape Argus