Flatman: SA coaches need Euro apprenticeships
South Africa could do themselves a huge favour by exporting some of their talented young coaches to Europe for an 'apprenticeship'.
This is the view of former England prop David Flatman, who felt that all coaches can benefit from heading abroad for a period to "broaden their horizons".
European teams welcome foreigners with open arm – not just players, but also coaches.
In fact five of the teams in the Six Nations are coached by foreigners and Flatman said it is beneficial to the competition and the individual teams.
Currently the most successful of those are England's Australian import Eddie Jones, who has a 100 percent record (with two wins from two starts in 2016). Wales' New Zealand mentor Warren Gatland has a win and a draw, Ireland's Kiwi Joe Schmidt has a draw and a loss, while Italy's Frenchman Jacques Brunel and Scotland's Kiwi Vern Cotter both have two defeats. The only home-grown coach, Frenchman Guy Noves, also still has a 100 percent record after two rounds.
The South African reluctance to employ foreign coaches was highlighted when the Stormers made a dramatic about turn and brushed off New Zealander John Mitchell (now coach of the American Eagles), despite a strong recommendation from Gert Smal, Director of Rugby at Western Province Rugby (Pty) Ltd.
For Flatman, who is working with the Accenture Analysis Team to provide data-based match insights, it is not a straight choice between foreign and home-based coaches.
However, he feels there is definitely something in the theory behind the apprenticeship that coaches serve in Europe.
"A team like Saracens are really well-respected and admired in England for giving young coaches a chance, trusting them backing them and giving them a shot," Flatman told rugby365 in an exclusive interview.
"That is great, it makes them very good coaches.
"English coaches almost invariably serve their apprenticeship in England, occasionally in France, but generally in England. They are very well paid and very well looked after.
"It is a very good apprenticeship, but it is a player who only ever played in England and coaching only in England. Inevitably it gives you a narrower view, a narrower perspective."
Flatman pointed to the Welsh coach, Gatland, who is high on the pecking order to be a future All Black coach.
"His apprenticeship is going very well," Flatman said, adding: "A lot of these guys' apprenticeship takes place here [in Europe].
"That is because there are more teams than in their provinces back home, and a lot more money here.
"I would imagine you would get paid a lot more to be the head coach of Leinster [in Pro 12 and European Cup] and Toulon [European Cup and Top 14] than the Chiefs [in the NPC and Super Rugby].
"They bring a huge amount of knowledge of another rugby culture and then they also learn ours – that just gives you a much broader perspective.
"They are coaching international [teams] here because they are the best coaches available.
"I would love to see more English coaches going abroad, saying: 'There are enough opportunities here and 10 am going to back myself. I will go to the Blues, start at the Academy and work my way up.'
"Five or 10 years from now they will have a more worldly experience," Flatman said.
Nic Mallett, one of the most successful Bok coaches in the post isolation era and currently a TV analyst, is a perfect example of someone who served his apprenticeship in Europe and returned home to take his country's national team to new heights.
"I don't see how you can't benefit," Flatman said, when asked if more SA coaches should head abroad, adding: "It is a 100 percent good idea.
"If you have a top South African coach, in his prime, and he leaves, then that is exporting at the wrong time," he said.
"If you can get a 35-year-old or 40-year-old coach and he has a good history in the game, he has been abroad to France, coached in England, coached in Ireland of Wales, he would have experienced different things.
"He would have learnt a huge amount and bring that back before he is spent.
"It [just] has to be a better system.
"It feels like the Kiwis got it right.
"It could be a conscious decision or there are just not that many gigs over there, but it works for them.
"When Steve Hansen decides to quit the All Blacks, look at the options they have got. They have some great options coaching up here [in the Northern Hemisphere].
"These guys are learning all the time and they will take all that back and they will have that inherent knowledge of their own culture as well," he said of the likes of Gatland, Schmidt and Cotter.
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
* Interview brought to you courtesy of Accenture . David Flatman is part of the Accenture Analysis Team during the Six Nations, providing fans with insight and analysis to #Seebeyond standard match data. Follow @AccentureRugby or visit accenture-rugby.com. Download the Official Six Nations app.
