Gold: Heyneke is the right man
Former Springbok assistant coach Gary Gold believes appointing Heyneke Meyer as the new man at the helm of the South African team was a stroke of genius and expects him to have great success.
Gold has admitted that he is a massive fan of what Meyer has achieved in his coaching career and sees his appointment as a step in the right direction.
“There was no doubt that Heyneke was always going to put a great team together and giving him the job is a great appointment,” Gold told EWN Sport.
“I have massive regard and huge respect for Heyneke and if you see his pedigree and see what he’s achieved and how hard he’s had to work to get there, he really is tried and tested as a coach.
“It doesn’t matter that he’s a South African, even if he wasn’t I think he’d be a top candidate for the job and he understands the psyche of the Springboks.”
The most recent rumours are that Meyer will appoint Bulls coaching duo of Johan van Graan and Ricardo Loubscher as his assistants to guide the Boks with him.
“Any coach wants to put people together who he trusts and has worked with and had success with,” Gold explained when asked about the possible additions to Meyer’s staff.
“I’m very excited for Springbok rugby and I think Heyneke and whoever he has with him are going to make a huge difference. I’m quite sure the players are also enthused about where Springbok rugby is going.
“No matter where I am or what I do I still love the Springboks dearly and I’m excited to see how they are going to get on and I expect they’ll do particularly well.”
Gold’s own future has been cast into doubt, after it was announced that former Leicester Tigers and Harlequins boss Dean Richards would be taking over as Newcastle Falcons’s head honcho at the end of this season.
“The plan was always for me to come over and assist the club as best I could until the end of the season and see where we went from there,” Gold explained.
“There are a few other irons in the fire that I’m quite excited about, and Newcastle was one of them. Because of Dean’s situation and sensitivity around means it has been a confidential thing and hasn’t been something we’ve been able to talk about.
“My issue very simply was that I was keen to come here and do the very best we could to improve the team, and that was on January 15 and all I’ve ever committed to was being here until the end of the season.”
As for his own future, Gold is yet to make up his mind about staying on in England or returning to South Africa for his next coaching project.
“There are a couple of options over here that are quite exciting, and I have had conversations with one or two organisations back home.
“At this moment in time I haven’t decide what I’ll do and I have to consider my family who are back in South Africa. It’s quite simply a situation at the moment that we’re focused on the Falcons until the end of the season,” he told EWN Sport.
