Boks shake up imminent

CARDIFF: No sooner had Wales beaten South Africa 27-13 in Cardiff to end a wretched 2016 for the Springboks then the president of SA Rugby announced plans for a review and governance overhaul.

Saturday’s result, just South Africa’s third defeat by Wales, saw the Springboks post an eighth loss in 12 Tests in 2016 — their worst record for a full season since their return from apartheid-induced isolation.

This year also saw the twice world champions suffer their heaviest home loss of all time in going down 57-15 to New Zealand in Durban in October, while last week’s 20-18 reverse in Florence was their first defeat by Italy.

“It has been a profoundly disappointing season in terms of results and we are acutely aware that we have failed to live up to the Springboks’ proud heritage,” said SA Rugby president Mark Alexander.

“Our number one priority is a turnaround strategy for the Springbok team, and that will be looked at immediately and decisively.”

This latest reverse added to the pressure on Springbok coach Allister Coetzee, who took over after last year’s World Cup in England — a tournament where the Springboks finished third after suffering a shock loss to Japan in arguably rugby union’s greatest upset.

Alexander warned against a “knee-jerk” reaction but also said “that if tough decisions have to be made, we will not shy away from making them.”

Significantly, Alexander added the policy of letting overseas players be available for Test selection would be reviewed, with a proposal to let private investors take stakes in South Africa’s Super Rugby franchises also up for debate.

There are some 300-400 South African players currently with overseas clubs.

World champions New Zealand effectively refuse to select overseasbased players while England, second behind the All Blacks in the world rankings, only do so in “exceptional circumstances.”

The aim in both cases is to maintain domestic standards while allowing the national coach as much access as possible to his Test match players. AFP