New Bok coach: Transformation with merit
South African Rugby Union President Regan Hoskins confirmed, at a media briefing in Cape Town on Friday, revealed that while the final decision on who will replace Heyneke Meyer as Bok mentor has been made.
However, his name will only be revealed later this month – at a media conference on April 12.
Ratification by the council is the final step in the constitutional process to appoint a Springbok coach.
However, it's no secret that Allister Coetzee is the frontrunner and is expected to be handed the reins – most likely to be assisted by Johann van Graan as forwards coach, and Mzwandile Stick as his backline counterpart.
"It's vitally important that we not mention the name at this point in time, but we hope to do so fully publicly on the 12th [of April]," Hoskins said on the back of SARU's AGM Friday.
Among the reasons for the delay, Hoskins cited contractual issues and arrangements with the candidate's current club.
According to Hoskins, there were no internal objections to the new coach and everyone is 100 percent on board with the decision.
"Purely out of respect for the whole process, and requests that have been made, we've said that we are happy to wait a week to make the announcement. But the decision was taken today [Friday] and it was unanimous."
SARU, of course, has a mandate – a 'contract' they signed with the government – to put out a team that is comprised of at least 50 percent black players by the time the next World Cup rolls around in 2019, and Hoskins is hoping that goal will be met without sacrificing the competitiveness of the team – an ideal he coined as "transformation with merit".
"It's a new chapter, it's a new era, I think that 2015 was difficult, and we as an organisation really want our people to get behind the coach and the team from the get-go, so that hopefully all the blocks are in place for 2019 and we can really go out there and be the number one team.
"I'm really looking forward to that. I think that the new coach is going to be good for South African rugby."
The new Springbok coach will be appointed on a four-year contract and will see the national side through the 2019 World Cup in Japan, and beyond.
The new coach, Hoskins suggested, would be able to facilitate the transformation process.
"That was an issue and he certainly does tick those boxes so we're pretty happy about that."
And when it comes to his backroom staff, transformation will also play a role – with a black African assistant, rumoured to be former Sevens star Stick, another priority.
Stick is currently the backline coach at the Southern Kings in Super Rugby.
"I heard somebody coin a term in the last few days: 'Transformation with merit', something like that," Hoskins told the media briefing in Cape Town.
"So, while we are appointing black people to the top echelons of the management of the game, I'm really confident that the Black African person that we appoint would be up to it.
"The CEO [Jurie Roux] has had a very good meeting with the prospective coach and it seems like that augurs well."
Hoskins said the delay in announcing the name of the new coach would not impact on the Springboks' performance against Ireland in June – his first assignment.
"We have a rugby department, so I would like to think he will hit the ground running.
"It's not going to start when he starts working.
"They've been working hard from last year in terms of having a programme in place already for this year. It's going to entail the new coach coming in and having to start anew."
The SARU boss said the Bok team management group would probably be a hybrid situation.
"It's no secret that we have very important people on the payroll already, and there are people that we still have to talk to the coach about.
"There are some key back-up staff that have to be appointed in consultation with the new coach, but there are certainly people that will be there because they are part of South African rugby already.
"So, I'm happy with some of the names that management have brought to the meeting, especially in respect of representivity, and how that whole team will look going forward from a representation point of view. It's crucial and it's pleasing to note."
On the issue of transformation, Hoskins admitted there was still some work to be done.
"I think we will knuckle down and see where the weaknesses are, but there are some positives," said Hoskins.
"If you look at the Stormers team, it's been a beacon of hope for transformation and I think that it puts pressure on the other franchises because they're feeling quite embarrassed about the fact that they don't have enough black players on the pitch."
While transformation and black African representivity were the buzzwords, the Boks' failure to win the World Cup last year was also high on the agenda.
"One of the members said third place is not good enough, so I think we had to take that point on board," Hoskins said.
"It was quite well made, so it is hoped that we win the World Cup in 2019.
"Coming third wasn't well-received. But third is not first, and we want to be first in 2019."
This AGM, as it turned out, was also to be SARU Company Secretary Ismail Jakoet's last.
Jakoet, a faithful servant to SA Rugby for over two decades, announced his retirement and bade his colleagues farewell with a measured, thoughtful speech, which was well received.
Hoskins had nothing but praise for Jakoet.
"He's really been pivotal in the operational stability and success of this organisation for a long time," he said. "He was there when unification took place in 1992, so he was a key figure in unifying SARB and SARU."
Outside of the new coach, there were issues surrounding SARU's leadership.
The President, Hoskins, had come under fire after media reports suggested that he had lost the confidence of some of the domestic union presidents.
SARU CEO Jurie Roux, meanwhile, is in the middle of a legal battle with Stellenbosch University over allegations that he manipulated funds to benefit Maties club.
Roux is facing legal action to the tune of ZAR32-million, but all of this allegedly happened before his appointment as SARU CEO in 2010.
"We had a very frank discussion around all of the media issues and it was good," Hoskins said after the AGM.
"It was difficult – it's not easy for leadership to be told by your stakeholders, but we listened and we engaged each other and I think we've come out far stronger as a result of the meetings [on Friday].
"A lot of the questions came from the general assembly, which doesn't meet often, and rightly so a lot of the questions came from there of the Exco and myself.
"There was some straight talking. I had to listen to some harsh words from people and as a leadership you can be arrogant … it doesn't help."
Hoskins pledged his support to Roux, and spoke of the impact that the Stellenbosch case has had on SARU.
"I've always supported the CEO. The issues surrounding Stellenbosch have been difficult," he said.
"But we as leadership, myself and the Exco and the general assembly, have decided that we need to go forward. We need to focus on the challenges facing our organisation – the coach, transformation and winning.
"Credit to him, we've been able to work through it despite the tension and all that it causes. We said 'let's put our job first and put rugby first' and I think after today [Friday] we can just put it behind us and move on."
Hoskins confirmed that SARU had sought legal advice on how best to deal with the Roux saga.
"It's such a difficult issue because it's an issue that happened prior to his present employers," he said.
"Whilst legally we can't ignore it, we had to take into account all the advice that we got.
"It's not an issue that you can reference in the law reports. It's not the type of issue that is common. And that's what made it such a dynamic challenge for us as an organisation.
"We've been going back and forth, trying to do the right thing. You're dealing with the most senior employee in your organisation … for me it's not easy."
The council was also expected to discuss the 'rescue plan' for Eastern Province and how to get the Union out of their financial turmoil, but Hoskins confirmed that did not happen.
"We didn't get onto EP today. There are so many issues that we want to discuss but we only have so many hours in a day," he said.
"We have a four-man committee that is dedicated to EP and I think there's been a lot of progress made. From what I know personally, we're probably heading in the right direction."
By Denver Keytle
@rugby365com
