SPORT: Black coaches still treated unfairly
IN ANY normal world the announcement of new Lions Currie Cup head coach Ivan “Cash” van Rooyen should have been received with shock and dismay.
But there is nothing normal about rugby in South Africa and the elevation of a strength and conditioning coach to head coach happened without any noise. There should have been a lot of noise. In fact, it is the kind of appointment that should have finally sparked an outcry from the mother body Saru and all stakeholders interested in the well-being of rugby in SA.
I’m sure Van Rooyen is a nice guy, has the attributes to one day be a head coach and has served under enough coaches to know what it takes to lead a professional rugby outfit.
But so too does a guy like Joey Mongalo, Bafana Nhleko, Ricardo Loubscher, Sino Ganto, Deon Kayser, Deon Davids, Dumisani Mhani, David Dobela, Chumani Booi, Vuyo Zangqa, Jonathan Mokuena, Alfred Mzizi and not least Paul Treu.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union has already invested much into a guy like Mongalo who started off with the juniors, went on to be defence coach for the Junior Springboks and now is Lions Super Rugby defence coach.
The same applies to Nhleko, who successfully coached junior Lions teams and was at the helm of the Lions’ Rugby Challenge side before joining the Junior Boks as an assistant coach this year.
However, the Lions have conveniently overlooked the coaching experience and qualifications of Mongalo and Nhleko and opted to perpetuate the age-old issue in SA rugby of patronage and a resistance to change.
The Lions are not unique to this phenomenon of not believing in black coaches and giving them the same opportunities as their white counterparts with most, if not all, the unions happily living in the past and promoting “separate development” as the architect of apartheid so eloquently put it.
But you see in this abnormal rugby landscape that is SA, competence and experience mean nothing when you are black just as is the case for those that harbour ambitions of being administrators.
It’s been obvious for many decades now that the key qualification or competence to being a head coach especially at senior level specifically in the Currie Cup and Super Rugby is that one is white and knows the right people.
If this was not the case then a coach like Mhani would have long found a home at one of the Super Rugby franchises after his name was shortlisted for the Bok coaching job back in 2004.
Mzizi long left rugby coaching and is a successful businessman turned rugby commentator after being continuously overlooked for coaching jobs, even though he is one of the most qualified coaches in SA and has the experience of coaching the then SA Under-23 team and was the Bulls’ Super Rugby assistant coach.
The late Peter Maimane had also found himself doing menial work even though he was highly qualified, had served as assistant coach to several successful Blue Bulls U21 teams and the Junior Boks and had coached the Blue Bulls Merit A side to an unbeaten season.
At the time of his passing in 2012, Maimane was no longer involved in rugby after having served in Peter de Villiers’ Bok management team as a technical analyst.
Coming back to SA rugby today, Western Province find themselves in a similar dilemma where Stormers assistant coach Treu has to serve under a coach who is less experienced and qualified than him.
Lest we forget, Treu has coached two international teams in the Springbok Sevens team which won the world series and produced some 15s Boks and the Kenyan national team in Sevens.
Treu has to be one of the most qualified coaches in all sporting codes in the country as he holds a Master’s degree in sport and outside of SA is regarded as one of the most astute rugby minds around.
So why isn’t Treu good enough to be a head coach of any team in SA, be it in Currie Cup or Super Rugby?
Zangqa, who assisted Treu with the Blitzboks and Kenya, is now head coach of the German men’s Sevens team and from time to time is roped in to help with the men’s 15s side.
I’m sure by now you catch my drift, and as uncomfortable as it may be with certain elements within SA rugby, it is one that needs to be spoken about openly and honestly, and needs to be addressed.
This self-destructive behaviour by rugby bosses across SA is set to continue with the successor to soon-to-be departed Bulls coach John Mitchell not going to be either one of the names I have mentioned above.
My colleagues in the media don’t help as well, with some journalists touting coaches who have never been involved in Super Rugby at all and even former players who have never been head coaches at any level. I ask, what about Deon Davids? Can’t he coach the Bulls? Isn’t he qualified and hasn’t he coached at Super Rugby level?
But then I am reminded by the happenings of the past and present, that equal opportunity and progress is the enemy to a game that remains for a privileged few in SA who are certainly not black.