Former Bok speedster lifts the lid on Dale College coaching saga

EXCLUSIVE: Former Springbok and Bulls winger Bjorn Basson has found himself caught up in a coaching fiasco at Dale College Boys’ High School in Qonce in the Eastern Cape.

Basson, who represented the Boks on 11 occasions from 2010 to 2013, attended Dale during his school days before matriculating in the early 2000s.

Earlier this year, he was approached by his alma mater and offered the opportunity to take over as the school’s first-team rugby coach.

Basson, who spoke to Rugby365 exclusively, said he was interested in the offer before the school told him it would need to advertise the post and conduct interviews as part of its recruitment process.

Basson was among the candidates interviewed but never heard back from the school, despite being head-hunted and ‘hounded’ to apply for the position.

“What initially happened is that they contacted me, looking at getting me to help out and get into a position there,” he told Rugby365.

“They were hounding me and said they had to go through procedures and advertise the post, and I had to go for an interview, and I said that’s fine.

“I was told I would get the position but ended up not getting it. As things stand, nobody has contacted me or spoken to me about taking over.

“I’ve heard stories saying they’re looking to appoint me for next year, but I have had no communication with any of them.”

This past week, reports circulated that parents at the historic school were unhappy with the recruitment process and believed it was flawed.

The school, which produced the likes of Aphelele Fassi, Tera Mtembu and the late, decorated isiXhosa rugby commentator Kaunda Ntunja, is accused of favouring a new history teacher for the role, overlooking Basson and fellow Old Boy Bangi Kobese, who also applied for the position.

Kobese is a former Dale pupil who played semi-professional rugby and was part of their coaching staff this year.

Despite applying, he wasn’t shortlisted for the interviews, and when Rugby365 reached out for comment, he said he had already handed the matter over to his attorneys.

Basson, meanwhile, was left in limbo after the interview and, while disappointed, had to quickly move on.

“As soon as Dale contacted me, it was basically a no-brainer for me,” he added.

“I’ve come back to the Eastern Cape, where I’m busy with my own foundation now, giving back to the community, and it looked like it was the right thing for me to do, going back to my old school.

“A lot of talent comes out from Dale, and I would’ve loved to be a part of that. I was disappointed for a while, but I said it is what it is, and I moved on; I wasn’t going to wallow in it.”

Dale advertised the first team role again on their social media page on the 20th of August.

The role was described as a “two-year fixed-term vacancy”, with applications closing on September 3.

While Kobese has laweryed up, Basson has buried the hatchet.

“Family members and friends have been sending me these reports, but I’m not really interested in it.

“I’ve most definitely buried the hatchet; I don’t want to get involved.

Instead, Basson is focusing on his personal endeavours.

“My main focus is giving back to the community. I’ve started advertising rugby clinics. I’m also looking for funding, obviously, to try and assist the kids with free coaching.

“There’s so much talent out there that can’t be unearthed because not all parents can afford to pay for coaching. I’m also helping out at Buffs [Rugby Club] and a couple of schools have reached out to me, but my main focus is giving back to the community.”

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The Old Dalian Union [ODU] also weighed in on the matter.

Phiwe Ndinisa, who was the union’s president during the time of the incident, said they’re working hard and contesting the decision to hire the newly appointed teacher as coach.

“As the Old Dalian Union, we’re quite disappointed with how this matter has been handled,” he said.

“I don’t recall the last time we had a former Springbok player eager to come back and give back to the community.

“And here you have Bjorn, who’s come back home and is giving back, running clinics with his brothers. As Old Boys, we will do all we can to get him involved; it’s not all doom and gloom from our side.

“We will try our best to get him involved; we need the dust to settle. At the end of the day, we need people with integrity to run our sport.”

Director of Sports at Dale, Lukhanyo Tshongweni, was contacted for comment but refused to speak on the matter.

Efforts to also get comment from the school’s governing body chairperson, Leon Nkwenkwe, were unsuccessful. Nkwenkwe said he could not comment as the matter is still ongoing.

It’s not the first time Dale has found itself in the spotlight. Earlier this year, headmaster Craig Hatches was suspended by the Eastern Cape Department of Education following allegations of financial mismanagement.