SA Rugby complicit in whole sorry Bok mess

The leaking of Allister Coetzee’s feisty letter to his employers at SA Rugby undoubtedly threw fuel on the fires of the lynch mob that wanted to see the Springbok coach driven out of his post and South African rugby in general.

Amid all the furore, however, the now-former Springbok coach raised some vital issues that should not be glossed over while the public raged over the gall of a man fighting back after he could only win 44% of his Tests while in charge of the national team.

While there can be little argument that Coetzee looked out of his depth and failed to inspire or improve the Springboks in the international arena, the source of many of his failings can fairly be laid at the door of SA Rugby. And his accusations that his two-year tenure was actually just a front for the eventual appointment of Rassie Erasmus as national coach – a sham to cynically tick the transformation box – coincide with shadowy moves behind the scenes that South African rugby sources made me aware of two years ago.

That Erasmus, who brought a hat-trick of Currie Cup titles and flashing lights to Free State rugby, and sophisticated computer coding for player performance to SA Rugby, has wanted to be the Springbok coach ever since Heyneke Meyer was on the way out is well known.

But he also didn’t want to be in the same spotlight – answerable to the media and accountable to the South African rugby public – as all other Springbok coaches and that is the major problem I have with his candidacy. Coetzee’s revelation that he was offered the role of “ceremonial coach” backs this up, as does the leaking of Deon Davids’ name as the new national coach at the end of last year.

That Coetzee had to operate without the services of a breakdown specialist – which Meyer described as one of the key appointments (paid for by a generous benefactor of Springbok rugby) of his tenure – and with four different defence coaches in two years suggests that just maybe he was being set up to fail while Erasmus enjoyed a couple of high-paying years with Munster.

Never mind Coetzee’s late appointment.

This column is not intended to argue that Coetzee should have continued as Springbok coach, but rather to highlight SA Rugby’s complicity in the whole mess. Once again, Super Rugby will be upon us before we know who the national coach is for three massive Tests against high-flying England in just four months. That probably doesn’t bother Erasmus because he knows darn well he is going to be in charge and has already said planning is well underway for the series.

Even more damning is the fact that Coetzee was told he would be fired before his performance review was conducted. This is the sort of high-handed, autocratic decision-making that was allowed when Louis Luyt was hiring and firing according to his whims, but it’s not going to pass muster in this age of labour law and human rights.

Cost-cutting was one of the reasons why Coetzee was under-resourced, but SA Rugby look certain to have to fork out a hefty payout to someone whose record was poor enough just to be dismissed in terms of performance if proper procedure was followed.

Given the lateness of the day – we are just 19 months away from the next World Cup – Erasmus probably has to take the reins, but it will be an underhanded, tacky ascension to the throne.

But Erasmus has to be accountable and it will be interesting to see if he is held to the same standards as Coetzee.