Previous Bok regime comes in for stick
Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and flyhalf Elton Jantjies took a swipe at the previous Springbok set-up when they pointed out how much the camp had changed for the better under new boss Rassie Erasmus.
Previous coach Allister Coetzee was sacked six months ago after two years of record defeats‚ muddled game plans and a poor transformation record.
In his first series in charge Erasmus has guided the Boks to a 2-0 home win over England, with the third Test at Newlands on Saturday. He has also appointed the first black Springbok Test captain and met his transformation targets.
Stick was the Bok backline coach in 2016‚ an appointment that Coetzee did not endorse.
After spending much of the year as a peripheral figure‚ Stick was axed at the end of a season in which the Boks lost eight of 12 Tests. How Stick was the only staff member to lose his job after such a poor year remains one of rugby’s great mysteries.
Jantjies‚ who was firstchoice flyhalf under Coetzee while Handré Pollard was injured‚ believes that the culture is now more positive than before. “I think it [the positive attitude] comes down from the top‚” Jantjies said. “If the coach’s mindset is a certain way obviously it influences the other management group‚ the medical team and the playing group.
“That’s something that I’ve picked up and that we’ve picked up as a group. It comes from the boss straight down to the last player. Everyone has got the same mindset and work ethic‚ and everybody just wants to achieve something,” he said.
“That’s something you will see off the field; this group looks happy and they’re enjoying rugby and that’s something that comes from the boss.”
Stick praised Erasmus’s honesty and willingness to meet the sometimes delicate issue of transformation head on.
“We live in a unique country and to have someone like Rassie who doesn’t shy away from the challenges that we’re facing is great‚” Stick said. “He’s a very honest guy and doesn’t play hide and seek about stuff. I remember the first alignment camps we had with the players‚ Rassie mentioned three things to them.
“He said we had to go back to a winning culture‚ we had to transform the team and the third thing was improve the image‚ which would come after the first two were met. When the coach is honest with you and he tells you where you stand‚ the players will believe in him and make sure that when they get an opportunity they grab it with both hands‚” Stick said.
“We took 13 debutants to the US … and then we came back and had a couple more. It shows that Rassie does give players opportunities and hopefully when it comes to the team announcement on Thursday there will be more new guys.”
Jantjies‚ who missed the second Test after sitting on the bench in the first Test in Johannesburg‚ said that it was a rotational move.
He looks set to feature again this weekend. SuperSport CEO Gideon Khobane has insisted that Ashwin Willemse’s contract with the broadcaster has not been terminated even though the former Springbok winger did not participate in the Vincent Maleka-led inquiry.
Willemse, a member of the squad that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup, walked out on fellow panellists Naas Botha and Nick Mallett at the SuperSport studios in Randburg after a Super Rugby game on May 19.
In his report, Maleka cleared Mallett and Botha of racism allegations and they will resume their studio duties.
But Khobane conceded that Maleka said the report was poorer without Willemse’s input. He was given an opportunity to participate in the inquiry.
“Because Ashwin did not participate‚ the report did not have the comprehensive view of everyone who was involved,” Khobane said. “However‚ advocate Maleka worked with the evidence that was before him and the other external parties that he consulted with.”
MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela said Willemse was not happy with the forum created to resolve the matter and decided not to take part in the inquiry.
“What comes out very clear is that Mr Willemse said he could not participate because he was not sure if the forum was the right one for evaluating the issues he wanted to ventilate.
“From where we are sitting‚ Ashwin responded based on something that he saw on a particular day and he responded in the way that he responded,” Mawela said.
Willemse‚ who represented the Springboks in 19 Tests between 2003 and 2007‚ spoke of being labelled a “quota player” and refused to be “patronised by two individuals who played in an apartheid/segregated era”.
He went on to say he “can’t work with people who undermine other people” and that he was “glad it happened on live TV so that people can see”.
Mallett‚ who coached the Springboks between 1997 and 2000‚ played two Tests for the Springboks in 1984 while Botha’s 28 Tests were between 1980 and 1992.
“Ashwin has a contract with SuperSport‚” said Khobane.
“It hasn’t been terminated and neither has he terminated his contract. Based on our next engagement with him‚ that will determine where we go.
“In the spirit of reconciliation‚ I will make another attempt to reach out to Ashwin for us to find a mutually acceptable way forward so that he knows this matter has been fairly investigated.”