Felix Jones' new 'hybrid' role explained
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has clarified what former attack coach Felix Jones’ new role will be in South Africa’s national team.
Jones returned to the Springboks following a short stint with England after winning back-to-back World Cups with South Africa.
New Zealander Tony Brown was appointed the new attack coach before Jones’ return, leaving questions about where the Irishman will fit into the Springboks’ plan.
Rassie Erasmus clarified Jones’ new role at a press conference in Cape Town.
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“He will not be used just as an attacking coach.
“There are a few areas [of our game] we feel we can improve on,” Erasmus said.
“We have various coaches overseeing different departments, and Felix [Jones] will be responsible for bringing all those elements together.
“He’ll be responsible for organising one-on-one sessions with the players.
“He’ll do extras with players before training sessions.
“Usually, it’s extras after training, but the players can decide which session they prefer.
“We want to use all our time on the [training] pitch to our full advantage.
“Felix Jones will also be involved with Jaco [Peyper] to work with World Rugby.
“He did it with England as with South Africa before his departure.
“He will also analyze the opposition, which will free up a lot of time for Tony [Brown] to focus on the players’ skills.
Erasmus added: “I don’t want to call it a [job] title, but he’ll be more of a coaching coordinator working with the other coaches.
“I don’t want people to go out and say that’s his title.
“He’ll be the link between players and coaches to get a player’s roadmap a bit better so they know exactly what to do.
“Apart from the team and conditioning sessions, for instance, say a player’s passing skills isn’t up to scratch – he’ll put him in that category so Tony [Brown] can improve his skill.
“He’s excellent at analysis, so we’ll use him alongside our two other analysts.”
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Erasmus elaborated on Jaco Peyper’s role within the team and how Jones will work alongside the former Test referee.
“He [Felix Jones] won’t be the attacking coach, he’ll be supplementary because he has the skills.
“Like [Jaco] Peyper doesn’t only work with the refereeing stuff.
“He also does the communication, how we talk from the coaches’ box to the team on the pitch.
“He’s done it a lot in his [referring] career.
“He ranks if our meetings are too long, and if the players pick up what’s being said or not.
“All these things we say, we don’t want it to become a thing for the Springboks.
“Our thing will still be to work hard for 80 or 90 percent, but if you only concentrate on these one percenters, you’ll only be left with the 10 percent.
“It’s not a nice to have for us. If we do the 80 percent hard work, then the other small details makes a difference.
