Cape Town - All recent former Springbok coaches were invited, but so far, only Carel du Plessis, Ian McIntosh and Rudolf Straeuli have indicated that they will attend the two-day SA Rugby coaching indaba on Wednesday.
Straeuli will be at the indaba in Newlands in his capacity as a former Bok coach and current Golden Lions chief executive.
Independent Media understands that the likes of previous coaches Heyneke Meyer, Peter de Villiers, André Markgraaff and Jake White have not yet responded to invitations from the governing body to help come up with solutions to fix South African rugby as a whole, and not only the Springboks.
It is believed that Nick Mallett - who was the most successful Bok coach outside of Kitch Christie’s 100 percent record, having been in charge for 27 wins in 38 matches from 1997 to 2000 - has decided not to attend.
SA Rugby have said that the objective of the indaba was to “discuss current playing trends across a wide range of areas of game play and seek alignment within SA Rugby on ways to ensure rugby excellence and continuous improvement to remain a top rugby-playing nation”.
But while it was Springbok coach Allister Coetzee who initiate the idea of the indaba, his team will also be part of the agenda, especially after the 57-15 mauling at the hands of the All Blacks in Durban on October 8.
SA Rugby said in a recent statement that they will look to find “longer-term interventions to assist the Springbok team” at the indaba as well.
And apart from the Springbok coaching staff - Coetzee, Matt Proudfoot, Johann van Graan, Mzwandile Stick and Chean Roux - as well as Saru’s rugby department staff such as Louis Koen and scrum specialist Pieter de Villiers, the six franchise coaches will also be part of the indaba.
But it remains to be seen whether Franco Smith and Nollis Marais will fly down to Cape Town, as the Cheetahs and Bulls are getting ready for Saturday’s Currie Cup final in Bloemfontein.
Gert Smal and Robbie Fleck will represent the Stormers along with chief executive Paul Zacks, while the other franchise coaches and officials are Deon Davids and Charl Crous (Southern Kings), Gary Gold and Gary Teichmann (Sharks), Barend van Graan (Bulls CEO), Johan Ackermann and Straeuli (Lions) and Harold Verster (Cheetahs).
In addition to Teichmann, another former captain in John Smit is believed to have accepted a call to attend the indaba as one of the ex-players, while last year’s World Cup skipper Jean de Villiers is unable to make it due to a prior commitment.
Du Plessis was jettisoned after just eight matches in charge in 1997 following a 2-1 series defeat to the British and Irish Lions, but he began the change in Bok rugby following the Markgraaff era to a more attacking style of play that Mallett continued with and that resulted in a tier-one record 17-match unbeaten run.
That mark is in danger this weekend, with the All Blacks facing the Wallabies in Auckland to go to 18 wins on the trot.
Du Plessis is considered as a “romantic” of the game who believes in allowing players to express themselves with flair, and his left-field thinking could be just what the Boks need after Coetzee went back to a conservative flyhalf in Morné Steyn in the last two Rugby Championship Tests.
McIntosh was still a Springbok selector up until the end of last year, and was Bok coach between 1993 and 1994.
Former Bok midfielder Brendan Venter will be the facilitator alongside last year’s team psychologist Dr Pieter Kruger, and insiders at SA Rugby believe that Venter is a controversial figure, that is perhaps exactly what is required at the indaba to get challenge the status quo and how things are done in rugby in this country.
Some of the major issues set to be discussed on Wednesday and Thursday will be a game mindset for South African rugby as a whole and not just for the Boks, as well as how players are managed in terms of their fitness and looking at central contracting, and also - perhaps most importantly - an emphasis on skills.