Racial targets aren’t holding us back, insists under-fire Coetzee

ALLISTER COETZEE may have been handed one of the toughest assignments in world rugby but the underpressure South Africa coach says he is at ease with the transformation process that some believe is undermining the Springboks.

As South Africa continues to deal with the fall-out from apartheid, the ANC government has instituted targets for sports governing bodies to ensure the country’s black and Asian communities are given equal opportunities to reach the top.

Rugby has traditionally been played by the white population and many South Africans believe the target of having 50 per cent black players by 2019 is unfair on their white counterparts. But Coetzee believes it is working, despite his team’s mixed recent results.

He said: ‘No player wants to play because of his skin colour, and I’ll never do that, that’s the biggest injustice you can do to a player. But I am a firm believer in giving all players opportunity and that might not have been the case in the past. It’s not just a matter of numbers on the field, it’s changing mind sets and perceptions, that is what transformation is about.

‘I’m not under pressure, I believe the players we have are the best in the country at the moment, not even looking at their colour.’

Coetzee is expected to name a team including three or four black players to face England on Saturday and he is confident his side can raise their game against a side that will be hot favourites, despite not having beaten the Springboks since 2006.

He added: ‘As the underdog, we understand the challenges we face.’