Long-term planning the key to success

This week sport365 columnist Robbie Fleck gives us his thoughts on Pierre Spies’s shock World Cup-ending illness, as well as questioning South Africa’s long-term planning after the tournament in France.

The news about Pierre Spies’s injury is a massive blow to the Springboks…

Spies is a class act and he will be sorely missed – I was really looking forward to him running off the likes of Bob Skinstad at the World Cup and he could have been a star at the tournament, making a similar impact, perhaps, as Jonah Lomu did in 1995.

At the end of the day, however, a player’s health is more important than a tournament, even if it is the World Cup, and I would like to wish Pierre all the best for a speedy recovery. The guy is only 22 and it would be a shame to lose him to the game altogether.

But Spies’s loss throws up some interesting permutations as far as selections are concerned and it gives somebody else an opportunity to step up and make his mark – especially when it comes to the No.8 shirt, a competitive enough position even before his withdrawal.

Pedrie Wannenburg would have been the logical replacement, although some also mentioned Jacques Cronjé as an alternative, but, in the end, Jake opted for an extra hooker in Bismarck du Plessis – leaving just five loose forwards in the squad. Obviously Bob and Danie Rossouw will come into the equation to start at No.8 in Pierre’s place, but it leaves the Boks quite thin in terms of loose forward back-up should anybody get injured during the tournament.

Aside from Monday’s shock news about Spies, things have gone a bit quiet since the announcement of the Springbok squad – probably the least controversial Bok squad ever announced, especially for a World Cup.

The coach, Jake White, seems to be quite relaxed, too; he’s done a lot of hard work since taking over in 2004, hopefully all will come to fruition at the World Cup in France…

I really believe the Boks have an excellent chance of winning the World Cup. Jake has assembled a superb squad and no stone has been left unturned, especially now that Eddie Jones has been brought into the mix as the squad’s technical adviser. It’s a brilliant decision and one that can only benefit them in France.

I do wonder, however, just what would happen if the Boks were to return to South Africa as World Cup winners come October.

Is there any post-World Cup planning in place? Will the Boks end up in disarray like the ’95 World Cup squad? Or look at England – they became world champions in 2003 and are now ranked seventh in the world. Clive Woodward began planning for the 2003 World Cup after the 1999, but he was so obsessed with winning that World Cup he never planned for life after the World Cup. When things started falling apart, he jumped ship and look at England now – they’re in disarray.

Win or lose the World Cup, I fear the same will happen here in South Africa. Will Jake be staying on as Springbok coach? If not, who is next in line to take over from him? Are there any succession plans for the captaincy job? We all know that John Smit will be moving to France, but so will Victor Matfield – who will be the new captain next year? How will we replace the senior players that are leaving after the RWC? How about the quota issues?

Succession planning is a very simple logic and one which is employed in every successful business around the world – your Investecs and Old Mutuals of this world don’t wait until their Managing Director resigns before identifying his successor. That is an ongoing process, so systems are in place in the case of someone being head-hunted or should they simply step down from a high-powered position.

Personally, I really hope that Jake White can stay involved in some capacity next year. He has done a wonderful job of getting South Africa to the World Cup and is highly-respected around the world – he needs to stay involved. Ideally, I would like to see him given the Director of Rugby job, with the new coach brought in under him, giving him the opportunity to learn from Jake.

Coaching at international level is a tough job at the best of times, but having somebody like Jake around would shield the coach from any potential dangers, whilst at the same time drawing on his past experiences to make life easier for the new coach; be it Peter de Villiers or anyone else for that matter.

Not many other people would have been able to sign Eddie Jones, a former Wallaby coach, on a short-term coaching deal, which speaks volumes for his standing in world rugby. People want to work for him – imagine who else he would be able to lure to South Africa to help the Springboks? Imagine how many more players would stay in SA instead of taking up contracts in Europe?

Of course, the uncertainty surrounding Jake’s future is not the only reason more and more top players have indicated that they are heading abroad. It’s an open secret that there are quota plans in place for next year. It is something that we cannot hide from in our country, but, again, it is simply a short-term fix.

Top non-white players should have been identified from an early age, making their passage to the top that much easier. We have had plenty of success at Under-19 and U21 level on the international scene with fully representative teams; it’s a reality that it needs to happen at the highest level, too.

SARU want results and they want results quickly – but we can’t field a winning team and a fully representative team at the same time, something’s got to give. SARU need to be prepared for this and the new coach needs to be given an opportunity to make his mark. Of course, having Jake White as his ‘boss’ would also help this new coach to absorb the pressure – from the public, the media and SA Rugby – and thereby make the right decisions.

As well as Jake has done, I think he erred by not picking younger players like Heinke van der Merwe, Peter Grant and Waylon Murray for the World Cup. These guys are youngsters, they are the long-term answer. Jake will argue that he needs Os du Randt, André Pretorius and Wynand Olivier to win the World Cup. While you can see his sense in Du Randt and Pretorius – the latter to a much lesser degree… – I completely disagree with Olivier’s selection. Either way, it’s only a short-term fix once again, but then again, can you blame Jake, who needs to win the World Cup stay in a job? Why should he have to worry about the long-term?

The World Cup is just weeks away now – I think Jones’s capture is an astute one, especially if they can tie him up for the World Cup, too, they really need to tie up someone like him for longer than just a few weeks or months. Jones is rated as one of the best – if not the best – technical coaches in world rugby, but it would be so beneficial to give someone like him a five-year contract, with full carte blanche, to work on our emerging talent – from the Under-19s and U21s, straight through the Super 14 franchises.

Like Tim Lane before him, Jones is burning many bridges back home in Australia, it’s a big pity that he is on his way to Saracens and not staying in SA – they should offer him big money and make him stay longer. Again, they should be looking to the long-term – they were very nearly caught with their pants down when Rassie Erasmus took the Stormers job.

Whilst on the topic of a long-term fix, it was with much sadness that I watched Western Province take another hammering at the weekend (45-13 to the Cheetahs- ed.). It hurts me a lot to see that; WP is obviously very close to my heart, but this union is being destroyed by a bunch of amateur administrators and they deserve to be stuck in their current rut.

Thankfully, in Rassie Erasmus, they have appointed somebody who can get things back on track, but he cannot be expected to simply wave a magic wand and put trophies in the cabinet next season. Rassie needs a good few years – at least five – to get things right, before they can even contemplate winning anything, but he needs the support of those above him, so he can recruit the right players and attempt to right all the wrongs.

Sadly, things will get worse before they can get better at Newlands, but Rassie needs to be left to his own devices and the professional arm of the union needs to stand up and be counted. They need to run the game, not the amateurs ‘running’ the union.

Chat next week,
Robbie Fleck

* Why not comment on Fleckie’s latest column on the sport365 FORUM?! Or email Fleckie at sport365@365digital.co.za with any comments on his views!

* Fleckie’s ‘Last Word’ will appear weekly on sport365.co.za – and also on rugby365.com and iafrica.com – so log on next week for some more opinions and in-depth analysis from the 31-times capped Springbok centre.