John Golaith writes in favour of Allister Coetzee:
“Going to Japan doesn’t mean it’s the end of me in South Africa, definitely not. I got this job first, but it doesn’t mean I won’t be coming back.”
These were Allister Coetzee’s parting words in his final press conference as coach of the Stormers before he went off to coach in Japan.
It was as if he knew he would be back in South Africa to coach the Springboks sooner rather than later.
Coetzee will be unveiled as the new Springbok coach in Joburg on Tuesday, less than a year after packing for Japan, having led the Stormers to a third South African Conference win in Super Rugby in five years.
During that final press conference as Stormers coach, Coetzee was very emotional, and had a few choice words for his detractors, who said his legacy as Stormers coach was tarnished because he didn’t win a Super Rugby title during his reign in the Cape.
It’s a side of Coetzee you don’t often get to see, as he is normally very guarded and straightforward in his dealings with the media.
Keeping his emotions intact, and knowing how to manage the media and the spotlight, are among his biggest strengths.
It’s something that will help him over the next four years.
His predecessor, Heyneke Meyer, struggled under the glare of the Bok spotlight and public scrutiny. While he is an experienced coach, he let the criticism get to him and it affected him negatively in his last few months in the job, so much so that he diverted from his original plans for the Boks.
Meyer ditched trying to expand the Boks’ game plan, playing an all-encompassing game, with a large emphasis on using the ball and space on attack.
But after first defeats to Argentina at home and Japan at the World Cup, he decided to go back to a power game at the World Cup, which also didn’t bring him success.
Coetzee is a lot more thick-skinned; in fact some would say he is stubborn and set in his ways. He backs himself and his ability.
Of course, this could also be a negative trait, but it’s a characteristic that has made him the most successful South African Super Rugby coach over the past few years.
Much of his success was also achieved with a Stormers side that was the best transformed Super Rugby outfit in the country.
There is no doubt transformation is going to be one of the most important responsibilities of the new Springbok coach, especially because of the South African Rugby Union’s target of 50 percent black representation by the time the 2019 World Cup in Japan comes around.
Some would say it’s easy for any Cape rugby coach to pick black players in a team, because of the abundance of talent at their disposal. But those players still have to be picked and backed by the coach.
The biggest myth surrounding transformation in this country is that picking black players weakens a rugby team.
But Coetzee showed last year what he could do with a Stormers side that consistently featured around 40 percent black representation.
Picking black players is not just about buying into an idea; you have to believe in that idea.
Coetzee is certainly a believer, and he knows rugby is also a great tool for nation-building.
“People can say I’m an ANC coach or whatever, but I know what the right thing is,” Coetzee said in his last press conference as Stormers coach.
“I will always pick a team on merit.
“The history and culture of the Western Province are so deeply entrenched. Poor people, you see them on the R300 (highway) walking with an old Province jersey, which just shows it’s about inspiring people and giving hope to people.
“Outside rugby, that was my main objective, for people to go out there on Saturday and be inspired by a team from all walks of life. A team selected on merit, a team people can relate to.
“I’m proud of that, and young coaches, and especially coaches of colour, can draw heart from that.”
Coetzee is the right man for the Bok job. He has the thick skin, the technical knowledge and desire to make a difference.
Mike Greenaway questions whether Coetzee is the right man for the job in the brave new world of attacking rugby:
IN this post-World Cup year, the Springboks once and for all need to tackle a brave new world of attacking rugby and I am not certain Coetzee is the right man for the task.
I think Allister is an incredibly experienced and competent coach (21 years now with the whistle after 22 years as a player), and in 2008 I could not understand why he was not the successor to Jake White.
Coetzee had spent eight years as Jake’s assistant on the way to winning the 2007 World Cup and when, for reasons best known to the governing body at the time, Jake was persona non grata it made so much sense to hand the reins to Allister.
There would have been a seamless transition from White to Coetzee. But apparently this made too much sense, and we thus had Peter de Villiers thrust on us. Instead of Coetzee, the man nicknamed Toetie, we got De Villiers, a maverick who liked to talk about tutus in never-dull press conferences that had media men queuing for front-row seats.
We should also remember that Heyneke Meyer was chomping at the bit for the Springbok job in 2008, only to join Coetzee on the list of also-rans. The choice of De Villiers over Coetzee and Meyer is quite possibly the Eighth Wonder of the World.
So Coetzee lost out, De Villiers did incredibly well, results-wise, thanks to the most experienced squad of players in Springbok rugby history led by supremely wise men in John Smit, Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez. Then Meyer finally got his chance, and the workaholic former Bulls man must lie awake at night and ponder how close he came to cracking it once and for all for the Springboks.
Midway through Meyer’s tenure, the Boks began playing some of their finest rugby. Meyer was determined to add flourishing attack to resolute defence, and he was getting there. Who will forget those epic games at Ellis Park between the Boks and the All Blacks, where the only difference between the sides in the end was the superior fitness of the Kiwis.
If only Meyer had stuck to those guns. But he had two problems. Firstly, he had a gun to his head in that South African rugby is results-driven and, secondly, he knew he would be judged on the World Cup.
Compare this to what is happening at the Lions in Joburg. Johan Ackermann has been given a mandate to fix the Lions and to do whatever it takes over as long a period as it takes. And he has passed this freedom on to the players. Don’t worry about results, just attack, attack and attack. Play with passion and the results will eventually take care of themselves.
If only Meyer had had the same passport of freedom. He had the Boks on the path to becoming the best team in the world, indeed capable of beating the All Blacks at their own game, but then regressed to square one when the pressure to get results got too much. Nobody can blame Meyer. If only he had been told to continue playing positively into the 2015 World Cup with a view to winning the trophy in Japan in 2019.
So can Allister pick up where the Boks left off when in their attack phase under Heyneke? Heck, does anybody recall the fantastic tries the Boks scored a few months before the England World Cup in Brisbane and Joburg? Possibly, but we all recall the Boks going back to medieval rugby after losing to Japan, grinding out victories based on the kick-and-chase game.
My problem with Allister is that he could get the Stormers and Western Province to play an attacking game. He did well to get the Stormers to a certain level, one where their defence was the best in Super Rugby for a number of seasons and their set pieces were immaculate. But they could not score tries. For three years or so the Stormers plateau-ed out, unable to take the step up to mix it in the Super Rugby play-offs. They just did not have the attacking game to win the tournament.
So what will change when Coetzee takes over at the Boks on Tuesday?