Hoskins must fall – Cosatu
WHILE Cosatu has welcomed Heyneke Meyer’s “resignation” as Springbok coach, the trade union federation also wants to see the back of SA Rugby Union (Saru) president Oregan Hoskins.
Meyer told Saru yesterday that he didn’t want to be considered for a new contract just over a month after the Springboks were knocked out of the World Cup in the semifinals by the All Blacks.
But Cosatu is also calling for Hoskins’s head, because it believes South African rugby is still “racist” and needs a change of leadership. This is not the first time it has weighed in on rugby matters after criticising the lack of black players getting regular game time for the Springboks earlier this year.
“The problems in rugby are much deeper than the coach and it reflects on the entire leadership. We need to review Oregan Hoskins’s continued tenure as leader also as he has let transformation down,” Cosatu said.
“We want the entire racist, unfair system to change, not just some fall guy to be presented to the media.” – Staff Writer
WHILE the rest of Cape Town is winding down, leaving work early and getting into the festive spirit, the Stormers have been hard at work on their “new game plan” for next year’s Super Rugby campaign.
Scrumhalf Nic Groom, loose forward Siya Kolisi and hooker Scarra Ntubeni, who yesterday unveiled the franchise’s 2016 home and away jerseys in Green Point, revealed that the Cape side have been doing a lot more work with the ball as part of their conditioning plan as they look to expand their game plan in next year’s revamped competition.
Over the last few years, the Stormers have been known more for their defence rather than their ability to score tries. And, with the team having assembled some big names to compete for the title next year, they are also going back to their roots in terms of keeping the ball in hand.
“The game has changed, you can’t get away with only having some grunt with a pack of forwards,” Groom said while wearing the Stormers’ new red and black away kit.
“You saw how well a team like Argentina did, and how they exposed teams. The way the modern game is going, everyone is just as big as you. You can’t just rely on brute strength to run over someone.
“They are going to work something out, and if you don’t have a Plan B you are going to struggle.
“The focus is on us to do any training to make us complete players and to use the ball and assess the space. That is the direction we have to take to be successful.”
And it seems like the players have welcomed the new approach, and haven’t really noticed the amount of kilometres they have run during their pre-season training so far.
“There are a lot more ball-in-hand stuff and a lot more running,” Groom said. “Pre-season has also been a bit longer this year.
“The boys have been hurting a bit, but it’s the only time of the year when you can focus on conditioning, and from that perspective we are ticking a lot of boxes.
“With the ball, you also cover a lot of distance without thinking about the running too much. You make a lot of passes and you get a good skill development at the same time, and you make a few kilometres.”
Ntubeni, a No 2 who likes to stretch his legs in the loose, is also enjoying the training but says there has been odd things happening on the training ground.
“There has been some frightening scenes, with JK (lock Jean Kleyn) giving a back-of-the-hand pass,” Ntubeni joked. “As a young side, the guys want to throw the ball around bit, and that is the Stormers style.
“Fleckie (backline coach Robbie Fleck) has emphasised that we want to play some exciting rugby and get the people back to Newlands.”
The Stormers will train until December 12 before having a couple of weeks off.
They will then return to the training ground in the second week of the New Year.