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Bok coach Heyneke Meyer.
NEW Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer says that when it comes to picking a new captain, he will “first pick the team, and then the captain”.
The 44-year-old Meyer spoke to Independent Newspapers in an interview following his appointment as successor to Peter de Villiers on a four-year contract.
The SA Rugby Union’s general council was unanimous in their support for Meyer as coach after the executive council had recommended that the former Bulls mentor be chosen to take charge of Springbok rugby.
But one of his key decisions in the next few months will be about the captaincy. This comes after De Villiers came under fire for controversially sticking with John Smit as the Bok captain, despite the then-Sharks stalwart having lost form and struggling with his physical conditioning.
Furthermore, his Sharks teammate Bismarck du Plessis produced a number of tremendous displays, yet had to be content with a place on the bench at Test level. Yet De Villiers felt that because Smit’s leadership ability was too important to the team, he could not leave Smit out.
But Meyer says he will do things differently when he decides on his captain and team for his first assignment, the upcoming three-Test series against England in June.
“I first pick the team, and then the captain. The public out there may feel that (the same man) doesn’t always deserve his place. So that is very important to me, that he first earns his place in the team as a player,” said Meyer. “I just think that, if the captain doesn’t deserve his place in the team, then the other players may start doubting him, and doubt the coach’s judgement, and you will never get it back.
“We are really blessed with a lot of strong leaders, and it can be any guy. I’m also a big believer in having four or five leaders in a team. The captain is more the guy who speaks to the media, but it is important to get the right guy who I can be proud of and who the whole country can be proud of.”
Meyer added that he was first looking to appoint a captain on a “short-term basis”, as the skipper has to be in good enough form to warrant a place in the side. Stormers captain Schalk Burger is regarded by many to be the favourite to replace Smit as Bok captain, but Meyer is known to also have a high regard for new Bulls skipper Pierre Spies and also hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle. That is if veteran Victor Matfield doesn’t come out of retirement.
But before Meyer gets down to watching Super Rugby and choosing the best-possible captain, he will first have to sort out his Bok management team. It is understood that Bulls defence coach John McFarland and conditioning expert Basil Carzis are likely to be part of Meyer’s Bok support staff, but that he is still searching for a backline coach. Bulls backline coach Pieter Rossouw could be in the running for a position in the Bok set-up.
Meyer told Independent Newspapers that he would be making use of specialists as he saw fit. But he did mention at a press conference on Friday that he hoped to get the “best people in the world or South Africa” for his management team, so don’t be surprised if Australian Todd Louden is part of the mix.
Louden, of course, was roped in by Meyer as the Bulls backline coach in 2007, and the Bulls went on to become the first SA team to win the Super 14 that year. They also scored the most points (388) in the league season, including that famous 92-3 victory over the Reds at Loftus to secure a home semifinal, and the second-most tries (45, compared to the Crusaders’ 47). Louden is currently the head coach of Sydney University after spending some time in Japanese club rugby.
However, it is unclear whether former Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus will be part of Meyer’s team, as he has been mooted to fulfil the role of high-performance manager at Saru. Saru chief executive Jurie Roux promised the public that the process of appointing the management team “won’t take a month”, although it is known that most of the likely candidates are under contract at other unions.
“We will be in a lot of meetings and a lot of deliberations over the next two weeks to get the right people in their positions,” Roux said. “If one of those candidates is contracted to a union, we will need to engage with the union before we even speak to the person concerned to ensure we do the process in the correct way.” – Pretoria News
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Cobus, wrote
Hey Ashfak, why are you stirring with this line: " but Meyer is known to also have a high regard for new Bulls skipper Pierre Spies and also hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle."? Hmmm? You are taking it way out of context and trying to make it look like Heyneke will go for a captain from the Bulls. It is known that Meyer has high regard for Spies and Ralepelle WITHIN THE BULLS STRUCTURES. That doesn't nearly come close to what you are trying to imply that he could pick one of them for Bok captain...
Chris, wrote
Anonymous, wrote
There is too much regionalism in SA rugby. Pick the best team regardless of where they come from. I think the previous setup relied too much on a clique, as the manager was not strong enough. This often happens in sport.
shaughn edwards , wrote
Mr Meyer ... this is from a springbok rugby fan ... from what i have heard and read it does certainly seem you have the right approach and that is firstly springbok rugby ... this is refreshing to hear, you seem to have the bigger picture in mind and that is what it is all about ... no one is bigger than the game ... selecting the best player is what it is about and i wish you all the best there because with the talent we have it is a very difficult task ... having players that are commented to the team ethos will make the springboks the best team in the world ... we need to get that ratio back where the All Blacks and the Springboks were always so close in games :) :) ... i wish you all the success as new springbok coach and look forward to South Africa being world champions once again ... good luck and know that the true south african rugby supporter is behind you and wishing you well in your new and exciting position ... all the best. hope you get to read this :)
Greg Shark, wrote
@anonymous 1:59pm - there is no question about bizzy being selected to captain the boks, none whatsoever! he does not even captain the great Sharks team. he was psd off once and you condemn him? if you wanted to see tantrums then you should have watched muller at the cheetahs...did that jog your memory. funnily bizzy already is playing for the BOKKE so where does that leave the team in terms of intelligence? your comment on 'grow up'...well that seems to say it all about you, better you concern yourself with bad behavior of your team supporters whatever that might be.
LordXerxses, wrote
Neither Spies nor Chilli has it to be the captain. PERIOD. it would only be becuase of bulls nepotism. anyway if chilli was captain then why is he not first choice hooker. if that happens then beloved heynke meyer will have become pieter de villiers.
The Gecko, wrote
Being a bull supporter this is going to hurt a bit, but I have to say it: Schalk Burger for Captain! We could definitely use a captain with his drive and passion, not to even mention he's strategic decision making ability. Now, if only he could come and play for the Bulls and Captain them too...
Anonymous, wrote
The Bismark issue is really getting old, why do you not evaluate Bismarck on the role of the hooker? Like line out throws, scrums won, etc. Honestly if he becomes captain then the intelligence levels of the Boks dropped to new levels. I have never seen any other player throw tantrums when substituted like he does. Him and a lot of Shark supporters should grow up
Ryan, wrote
Ashfak, how do you pen an article regarding the fact that the next bok captain will have to earn his place in the team first and add that Chiliboy Ralepelle is a possible candidate? This after you highlighted how 'tremendous' bench-warmer Bismarck du Plessis was? #UselessReporting #EditorOnLunch
Anonymous, wrote
listen to all your people,.... you moaning of the bad decisions of springboks,why dont you guys start getting positive and boost the poeple's mind. is because of your nagative opinions that S.A sports getting down the drain. lets support tehm and surley they will be better on the field and in their minds to do the best,....
Robert, wrote
Anonymous, wrote
All mention of Chilliboy being captain are ridiculous. The man was third choice hooker last year and is no way better than Bismarck. So if Meyer does pick him, then what does that say?
Anonymous, wrote
About time. I dont want to put blame on one person but our World Cup aspirations were severely hampered by having a Captain who was not the best player in his position. In fact he was about 4th best at the time of his final selection.
Ace, wrote
Heyneke Meyer, where have you been all the time?“I first pick the team, and then the captain. The public out there may feel that (the same man) doesn’t always deserve his place. So that is very important to me, that he first earns his place in the team as a player,” said Meyer. “I just think that, if the captain doesn’t deserve his place in the team, then the other players may start doubting him, and doubt the coach’s judgement, and you will never get it back" Thank goodness for sanity again
Greg Shark, wrote
ashfak...boy sometimes you write rubbish....JS was not struggling with 'physical condition' and his form was for all intents and purposes pretty good. he was always being compared to bizzy but the two players bring different positives to the game. considering JS was re-treaded to be a prop which was a massive mistake by bok coaching staff his return to hooker was pretty good. JS was in great condition at the RWC. in my opinion the last game plan against OZ should have been executed in the samoa match. Meyer is showing that he has no idea who can captain the team at this time and prefers to wait until he can assess the players available to him. what he also acknowledges if you read into his statements is that there is no ready top quality leader sticking his hand up, all the leaders are pretty mediocre for Bokke duty. maybe somebody will step up and be the next great captain, but meyer cant see that person yet.
Terry, wrote
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