Springbok coach living on borrowed time
An era of unmitigated failure appears to have come to an end
● SA Rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is well into planning the Springboks’ strategy for the next two seasons with current coach Allister Coetzee set to be sacked early in the New Year.
Coetzee, whose two-year tenure as Bok coach has been an unmitigated failure with only 11 wins in 25 tests, underwent a review process headed by Erasmus during the week.
It was a formal exercise that contractually needed to be undertaken. But it doesn’t take a rugby brain as astute as Erasmus’s to work out that the Boks are a shambles, despite Coetzee saying that the “team has grown” and has a “really healthy environment”.
SA Rugby has treaded cautiously in the past two weeks to make all the right legal moves in relieving Coetzee of his duties.
It’s not only Coetzee’s job that is on the line but also members of the management staff, which requires sticking to labour law requirements, in addition to dealing with the human element of lay-offs.
Livelihoods are at stake and despite the cut-throat nature of elite sport, there is still room for compassion and due process, which is why SA Rugby delayed any announcement on Coetzee’s future this week.
But there is no doubt he will pay the price for his team’s performances over the last 18 months.
Under Coetzee, the Boks have a 44% win ratio over the past two seasons. By comparison, his predecessor Heyneke Meyer had a 71% win record in his first two years in charge (2012/13). Before Meyer, Peter de Villiers (2008/09) and Jake White (2004/05) both had 68% win ratios in the same time frame. In addition, De Villiers and White’s teams won the Tri-Nations.
Coetzee’s Boks suffered a record 57-0 loss to the All Blacks in Albany, New Zealand, which came after losing 57-15 at home against the world champions last year.
Coetzee’s Boks also lost 20-18 to Italy in Florence last year and limped to a record 2713 defeat against Wales in Cardiff a week later. Last year, the Boks won four of 12 tests — their worst return since 1965 when they lost seven of eight tests.
This year, results appeared better with a 3-0 series whitewash of an embarrassingly poor French team that went through the motions.
Two more wins over an Argentina team in staggering decline since their semifinal appearance at Rugby World Cup 2015 eased some pressure on Coetzee. But with New Zealand and Australia to play, and a tour to the northern hemisphere to come, the real measure of the Boks’ worth was revealed.
A fortunate draw against a rebuilding Wallaby team in Perth was put into stark context when the All Blacks ran riot in Albany, scoring eight tries on their way to that record win.
Coetzee’s post-match remarks signalled the end for the coach. “I’m pleased with a couple of brilliant defensive efforts and a lot of positives that we can still take out of this game,” Coetzee said afterwards.
He was so out of touch with what had just transpired, and in such denial, he was beyond saving.
Coetzee celebrated a narrow 25-24 Newlands loss to an All Blacks team which had already won the Rugby Championship, and missing six frontline players, as if it were a win.
And when Ireland hammered the Springboks 38-3 in Dublin three weeks later, his time was up.