Coaches in skills plan to make Boks great

South African Rugby is a step closer to implementing uniform rugby fundamentals after the third coaching indaba at Kempton Park on Wednesday where a draft blueprint was presented.

The main task set by the meeting‚ which included coaches from the six Super Rugby franchises and the Springboks‚ was to identify the skills players needed to develop not only to become Springboks‚ but excellent national players.

Improvement in basic skills such as catching and passing and better defence were identified as vital over the course of the three indabas.

But more technical skills such as contact evasion‚ ball retention in attack and defence and aerial technique were also covered. Agreement was reached on ways to improve players’ skills and on an approach with which to achieve the intended results.

SA’s players need drastic upskilling‚ a process which should begin at school. But fundamental skills have been overlooked for so long that Super Rugby franchises now have to plan for more basic coaching.

The blueprint will be implemented at Super Rugby level immediately but will filter down to other levels. South African Rugby president Mark Alexander‚ Francois Davids (deputy president) and James Stoffberg (vice-president) joined the coaches at the event.

Wednesday’s gathering was a resumption of the coaches’ indaba first held in Cape Town in December‚ with the main aim of designing a new direction for Springbok rugby and to address onfield performance by South African teams.

The draft version of the South African Rugby blueprint was presented at the meeting following the two previous coaches’ gatherings.

There is also a much clearer understanding on the resting and playing time of Springboks‚ while a national conditioning strategy will be finalised within the next two weeks.

“We now have the guiding principles of a much-needed blueprint for South African rugby. The draft is the result of excellent collaboration between the local franchise coaches and the Springbok coaching staff‚” Alexander said.

“Co-operation and collective action is key for the implementation and success of this blueprint,” he said. “We are not expecting all our teams to play exactly the same game‚ but it will be good to see our Super Rugby teams use similar fundamentals when it comes to the basics of the game‚ and from there use their own unique style in their game plans.

“South African rugby can only prosper if our unions and coaches collaborate with one another in the implementation of our collective plan,” Alexander said.

THE BLUEPRINT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED AT SUPER RUGBY LEVEL IMMEDIATELY BUT WILL FILTER DOWN