SARU not ruling out foreign coach

Hoskins, who was addressing media in Cape Town over Heyneke Meyer's decision to step down as Springbok coach, said they will do the best they can to find the right man for the job.

However, he maintained that the organisation will not 'rush' the process 

"I don't think we must rule out any possibility [of a foreign coach]," said Hoskins.

"We want the best for South Africa. Look at the World Cup – out of the 20 teams that participated there, I think 13 teams had foreign coaches. So it will be silly of us to rule out a foreign coach."

"The CEO will explain to the General Council Meeting what the procedure will be and I think it will be a robust transparent process to get a new coach. We must not be hasty, we must not rush into it."

Hoskins was also quick to dispel reports that Allister Coetzee had already been appointed as the new Springbok coach.

"As I flew into Cape Town all the billboards say Allister Coetzee has been appointed. You must tell me where you got that from because I don't know about it," Hoskins told reporters.

Whoever the new coach may be, he will not only have to deal with the issue of transformation, but also the ongoing concern of players seeking greener pastures in Europe and Japan.

"It is a massive concern for me and for SARU and it's much bigger than us as an organisation," said Hoskins. 

"One of the biggest reasons for that is the state of our economy and our currency. Those are the biggest factors that are causing our players to go overseas. It is something out of our control. We just have to do the best we can in the circumstances."

By Warren Fortune

@FortuneWarren

@rugby365com