Rugby indaba: ‘It takes time to change bad habits’

Robbie Fleck Photo: Ryan Wilkisky

Robbie Fleck Photo: Ryan Wilkisky

Published Oct 21, 2016

Share

Cape Town - The Springboks can beat the All Blacks in 2017, but only if there is real commitment to adding greater variety to the style of play going forward.

That was the overall view from Robbie Fleck and Rudolf Straeuli after they attended the two-day SA Rugby coaching indaba in Newlands this week.

Bok coach Allister Coetzee brought together over 50 people – from current Super Rugby coaches and CEOs to former Bok captains and coaches – to discuss the state of the game in the country and how the nation as a whole can challenge New Zealand’s stranglehold on the game at the moment.

Some of the short-term “interventions” from the national body saw Cheetahs head coach Franco Smith (skills and attack) and Lions defence mentor JP Ferreira added to the Bok management for the November tour, while high-performance manager Louis Koen will remain with the team as a kicking consultant.

But the bigger picture of catching up and eventually overtaking the All Blacks as the best team in the world and New Zealand’s general rugby set-up was the main focus at the indaba.

Coetzee said afterwards that there was going to be greater emphasis placed on attacking skills development going forward, as well as able to deal with technical aspects such as the high ball or gaining territory with the boot.

But while Fleck agrees with the Bok coach that the “traditional strengths” shouldn’t be neglected, South African rugby players simply need to improve their make-up on and off the field.

“One thing we mustn’t lose sight of is that there are traditional strengths of South Africa rugby, and history says that. We certainly can’t lose whatever they may be – our physicality, contact skills, or whether it’s our big guys, or steppers, maul or scrums,” Fleck told Independent Media on Friday.

“But we certainly have to move forward and we need to have that variety in our game. It’s obvious that we have to increase the skills and get better decision-makers within our teams. We have to improve on our kicking game – we can’t be so predictable. All those things need to be developed, and we can do those fundamentals together and not in silos.

“We don’t need to play the same, but the fundamentals can be the same. The New Zealand system – the Hurricanes, Highlanders, Crusaders, each team have their own flavour. The Chiefs are massive ball-in-hand, whereas the Crusaders are a little more set-piece orientated, versus the Highlanders with a massive attacking kicking game.

“But there is a common theme in each team that is aligned to the All Blacks – whether it’s the same type of training or conditioning, that’s what we are looking at. Or front-rowers being able to pass. That is something we discussed, that every single tight-five player in South Africa has to become skill-orientated – whether that’s a better tackle technique or better passing, we have to up-skill. When a player comes through to the Bok team, he knows exactly what to do. It’s very basic stuff, to be honest.”

Former Bok coach and current Lions chief executive Straeuli has been on both sides of the divide, and stated that “all the CEOs realise that we will also be affected if the product (Springbok team) isn’t good. From a commercial aspect, it won’t be good for the Lions if the national team isn’t doing well and vice versa”.

The franchise bosses are going to have a meeting of their own, along with the provinces and SA Rugby executive to finalise what acting president Mark Alexander has initially said will be a structural change to the organisation, which is likely to see third parties become involved and more sponsors being sought to help keep the top players in the country and to grow the game further.

On the field, Straeuli is adamant that the Boks can become a force again. And it is his Lions team that have made the biggest strides in playing a dynamic style that brings results too, as shown by their run all the way to the Super Rugby final this year.

“We definitely have the players. We must just now work out a plan together. What came out from all the sections – running rugby through to the kicking, defence, counter-attack – we went through all those aspects. The Lions, Cheetahs and even the Bulls now got the ball-in-hand stuff right,” Straeuli told Independent Media.

“Again, Test rugby is different to Super Rugby, and if you can get at least two teams into the Super Rugby semi-finals on a regular basis, and your confidence is good, then it carries through to the national team. I think the game plan needs to be varied a bit more, depending on whom you play against and where you play them – that’s my personal opinion.

“We know where we are strong and we did identify problem areas, and how to solve those – we will have to put in extra practises, even at the franchises. There was good transparency and it wasn’t just a case of saying what’s wrong – we must know how to fix it.”

Fleck agrees, but says it will take time. “You cannot point fingers at the national coach, as the decline has been happening for some time. There’s a massive player exodus, high turnover in players, we are changing game plans and styles… If you want to change so-called bad habits, it takes time,” he said.

“We at the Stormers are trying to change from a conservative, defensive kicking game, and I’ve always said to you guys that it is going to take time. There were glimpses of what we are trying to do, and it came through in some games, but there were other games where – under pressure or results-driven – teams tend to revert back.

“It needs to become habit, and the Stormers are starting to show that. It took the Lions four or five years to get to where they are now. That is what Johan Ackermann said openly. Franco is doing the same at the Cheetahs, and Nollis at the Bulls, but it takes time.

“For Allister and his team, who only get the players for 18 weeks in a year, how do you expect them to make those changes if the franchises haven’t done it?”

[email protected]

@ashfakmohamed

Independent Media

Related Topics: