JOHANNESBURG - New Springbok attack coach Franco Smith says he is excited about what he saw from the South African teams in the opening round of Super Rugby and believes the national team will be a much-improved unit in 2017.
Smith was named on Monday as the Boks’ backs coach in charge of attacking play, taking over from Mzwandile Stick, who will now be part of the Junior Bok management team.
The former Bok centre and current Cheetahs coach said the nine-try bonanza dished up by the Stormers and Bulls at Newlands last Saturday made him particularly excited about the year ahead.
“It was an exciting game, with plenty of good, quality attacking rugby,” said Smith on Tuesday.
“The players had an
attacking mindset, but all the franchises have bought into the way forward for modern-day rugby. It is pleasing to know we are all finally on the same page.”
Numerous meetings have been held since the end of the last international season
between the franchise coaches and the national management team to plot the way forward for South African rugby and that process will take a further step forward on Wednesday.
Bok head coach Allister Coetzee, confirmed in the position on Monday after a
tumultuous 2016 season, and his management team will gather in Cape Town on Wednesday to put in place a plan as to how the Boks want to play going forward.
Smith, who coached the Cheetahs to Currie Cup glory last season and also led the Shimlas to the Varsity Cup title in 2015, said he would not copy the Cheetahs style at Test level. “I coached for many years in Italy and that involved a lot of proper teaching, of skills and various aspects of the game. It’s all about having the right mindset and the skills set to beat the opposition.
“I think special attention needs to be paid to our handling, the ‘what do I do with the ball when I get it’ scenario. Each and every player must know how to catch and pass; there needs to be a familiarity when in possession and it’s got to come naturally,” said Smith.
“Players must feel comfortable with ball in hand and be comfortable with what they need to do with it.”
The good news for the Boks, said Smith, is that all Super Rugby franchise coaches are trying to follow a similar style which includes keeping ball in hand for longer periods.
“We simply have to adapt in this country. We’ve always had big powerful forwards but that is not good enough anymore we need skilful players too.
“There are more than 370 South Africans playing their rugby abroad, but we can still put out six franchises in Super Rugby and we have a rugby fraternity that is very passionate about the game and the national team and we need to use that to our advantage.
“We’ve got a unique market here and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be successful. All we need is a mindset shift and I hope to help bring that about.”
The Bok management team, including Smith, plus 41 players, will gather for the first of three training camps in Johannesburg starting on Sunday, ahead of June’s three-Test series against France.