Will he go or will he stay? Stormers and Western Province coach Allister Coetzee has a tough decision to make in the next couple of weeks.
Does he continue in his current positions or make the call to end his association with Cape rugby and pursue his coaching career in another country, such as Japan where he has been linked with a job as head coach of the Kobe Steelers?
No doubt the lure of the kind of money he can make in Japan will be a serious attraction.
Coetzee, who left for Hermanus yesterday for the annual pre-season training camp with a group of 39 Super Rugby players, will have to make a call one way or the other as WP director of rugby Gert Smal needs to start getting his coaching team for after November in place soon. Coetzee’s current contract expires in November.
Coetzee told Cape Argus yesterday he would be available next week to “talk about it”.
One recent change at Newlands has been the arrival of former SA Sevens coach Paul Treu as defence coach in place of the world-rated Jacques Nienaber who has left to further his career at national level.
Smal, less than a year into his tenure, will want to continue landing more titles with the best possible team at his disposal to do so.
His senior coaching incumbents – cup-winning Coetzee (Currie Cup in 2012 and 2014) and John Dobson (one Vodacom Cup and two under-21 titles), will probably be swayed into staying on at just about any cost.
Coetzee signed up in 2008 while Dobson joined five years ago.
To lose one or both of them could create uncertainty in the ranks, and no doubt Smal will do what he can to keep them on board.
Coetzee is known to be considering going to the Kobe Steelers to replace Gary Gold, who has been released by the club to take up the position of director of rugby at the Sharks.
At the Kobe Steelers Coetzee would be linking up with former Stormers stars Jaque Fourie and Andries Bekker.
It is understood that Western Province are keen to extend Coetzee’s contract despite the last two Super Rugby campaigns ending in disappointment.
In fact, during the 2014 campaign WP president Thelo Wakefield promised to take action over the under-performing Stormers.
This action turned out to be the appointment of Gert Smal as director of rugby to relieve Coetzee of those duties and to allow him to focus on the coaching role.
Coetzee’s redemption seems to have been WP’s performances in winning an understrength Currie Cup, allowing the poor Stormers finish in the preceding Super Rugby season to be forgotten.
Coetzee will have to weigh up whether he is up for an extension at Western Province and thereby keep himself in the frame for the Springbok job in future.
It is understood that unless Heyneke Meyer wins the World Cup (or at least makes the final) the Bok job will become vacant, and Coetzee and Lions coach Johan Ackermann would probably be candidates to replace Meyer.
Jake White seems to have removed himself from consideration.
Gary Gold, who has served as a Bok assistant before, simply does not have the winning track record to be in consideration and the Bulls have under-performed of late in both Super Rugby and the Currie Cup, so Frans Ludeke is unlikely to be a candidate.
It seems too that Dobson is weighing up his options given a reported approach from the EP Kings for him to take over the coaching of that franchise.
Dobson has an great track record with his junior teams (winning both the under-21 trophy in 2010 and 2013 and the Vodacom Cup in 2012) and has brought several players through to the senior sides, but no doubt has higher ambitions.
Should Coetzee decide to move to Japan at the end of the Super Rugby campaign, then Dobson would be a good bet to assume the role of Currie Cup coach, given that he’s earned his stripes. - Cape Argus