Rugby should be more transparent
RASSIE Erasmus’s appointment as national rugby coach for the Springboks has been seen by some as a surprise, but we were acutely aware that this would eventually happen, judging by the process leading up to his appointment.
All the signs were there – from the resignation of one of his lieutenants at the Springboks to join him at Munster to the abject treatment meted out to Allister Coetzee before his untimely resignation well before his contract expired, and to Duane Vermeulen’s sudden return from his overseas stint.
So this eventual appointment has had a prequel to what was eventually going to happen.
What we do find quite shocking is the way in which all of this was conducted.
While we do not wish to be critical of Coetzee walking out, we believe he should have stood his ground.
As somebody who hailed from our stable and who carried the hopes of a still-divided society on his shoulders, he succumbed too meekly against the onslaught on his career by rugby’s officialdom and their cohorts in the media contingent.
We would have given him the necessary support had he been more forthcoming.
There are many across the social media platforms and in rugby circles who refer to the existence of a shadowy “Stellenbosch Mafia” running South African rugby. This cannot be confirmed or refuted.
What is quite striking, however, is the fact some people who have been identified as being part of this group have a history of aligning and indulging in such practices.
We have some serious concerns about the appointment of Erasmus, some of which are glaringly obvious:
It is difficult to understand the process which was followed in his appointment. How was it possible for him to announce his support team on the same day his appointment was made public?
In normal corporate practice, an opening of this nature is advertised, after which a shortlist of candidates is compiled and interviews are conducted. Erasmus’s appointment was made public together with his support staff. If a black coach had to be appointed in this way, the knives would have been out and transformation would have been blamed. Why the deathly silence now? Does sudden availability of Vermeulen have anything to do with Erasmus’s arrival? Vermeulen ditched Allister Coetzee’s Springboks and Western Province, and threw in his captain’s armband to play overseas. We would not be surprised if a number of players in “exile” have a sudden change of heart and return en masse with Erasmus at the helm of the Springboks.
Jacques Nienaber, who ditched Coetzee’s Springboks to join Erasmus at Munster, has also returned. If this yo-yoing sounds strange, then look at the scenario of Mzwandile Stick.
And then there is the case of Stick. He was unceremoniously dumped when he served under Coetzee, after being mauled in the media for his inexperience and other failings. But now he is deemed good enough to return under Erasmus. What has changed since he was shown the door?
But the most unbelievable issue of all revolves around the terms of Erasmus’s contract – six years and two World Cups. There must be bucketloads of confidence in his capabilities and credentials. All we see is a sparse performance record. For an organisation whose relationship with its coaches has always been fraught, this appointment by Saru for such a length of time defies all logic.
Erasmus’s appointment rankles and raises serious concerns. Certainly, the claims by Coetzee and Pieter de Villiers of a lack of support and being set up for failure become more credible.
We can now see evidence to back up a string of hitherto unproven accusations of covert operations, under-handed methods, secret talks and hush-hush plans.
These should not be part of the new democratic dispensation in South Africa, in which openness, transparency and even-handedness are enshrined in our way of doing things.
We wish to emphatically state to those in the higher echelons of rugby’s administration that rugby is not the domain or personal fiefdom of any one group. Attempts to run the game in such a way will never be allowed to succeed.
Rugby representatives need to be cognisant of their shelf life and should conduct the business of the game in such a way that the actions of all, right up to the highest office, can be open to scrutiny.
Crombie is the media secretary of the Saru Sacos Legends