Meyer rolls up his sleeves

Heyneke Meyer will do everything in his power to ensure that the Springboks have the best chance of success, starting with securing a strong support staff.

Although his first Test match in charge is only in June, Meyer knows that he faces a lot of hard work before then to create the optimal environment for the Springboks to thrive and he is relishing the challenge.

Meyer is under no illusions about the enormity of the challenge facing him and was at pains to stress the need for quality support if the Boks are to be successful.

“It is very important for me to have the best people involved possible in my management team because I truly believe that all the teams out there and all the nations have unbelievable coaching staffs and it is going to be a huge challenge,” he said.

SARU chief executive Jurie Roux pledged that Meyer’s support staff will be finalised in the next two weeks, after negotiations to get them out of their current contracts have taken place.

He said: “We will be in a lot of meetings and a lot of deliberations over the next two weeks getting the right people in their positions.

“Sure there will be challenges in one or two positions, but like with anything else you sit down and talk with people and hope to get the best result that is in the best interests of South African rugby,” added Roux.

It is a line that Meyer echoed as tried to drive home the point that all stakeholders should be doing everything they can to give the Springboks the best chance of success.

He commented: “Obviously I would like to start tomorrow with the coaching staff in place, but I am realistic and I know that most of the coaches are in contracts, if they are not in contracts then surely they won’t be good enough.

“I just hope that the rest of South Africa knows that the Springboks are the most important team and we can help each other to be in a win-win situation,” said Meyer.

The former Bulls boss has a reputation for being incredibly thorough and selfless, and it is those qualities that he will use to build his own structure for Springbok rugby in the coming months.

He plans to consult widely with players and coaches in the next few months as he tries to identify the best path for the team.

He said: “We will plan in advance and plan very thoroughly to map out the way forward.

“All the franchises, every single rugby person and player out there need to work together, because I think you need to start working, not on the field but planning for the first four or five months before the first game.

“I think it would be naive for me to start on the Monday and play England on the Saturday, so obviously I am going to spend a lot of time and do a lot of planning with all the coaches and all the players and all the necessary people to already start to talk about the gameplan about the things that I need for that first game,” added Meyer.

Having been a Super Rugby coach himself Meyer knows that constant and effective communication with the South African franchise bosses will be vital if he is to succeed and he was at pains to stress that he understands the pressures on them and that he values their input highly.

“I have been a Super Rugby coach myself so I know the frustrations so I am positive that we will work together and there is a lot of work to be done before that first game so I am really going to work hard and put most of the structures in place before that game [First Test against England in June].

“It is very important for me to spend lots of time at the different franchises, to spend time with all of the different administrators and every single person who can make a difference to the success of the team,” he said.

In a nutshell Meyer plans to use all of the resources at his disposal as effectively as possible to achieve his ultimate goal of attaining consistent success for the Springboks.

He said: “I am not arrogant enough to not get help from all over, and I want to make it very clear that I will use all the resources in my power to make the national team the best team in the world.

“Whatever it takes, I am willing to speak to anyone out there to make this team the best in the world.

“So there is a lot of work but I am excited and I know that I will get the support of all the coaches out there,” added Meyer.

By Michael de Vries, at Newlands