Lomu’s exploits a catalyst for professionalism
Are the Springboks ready to employ a foreigner as coach?
NEW Zealand Rugby would probably not have the commercial clout it currently enjoys in the rugby world had Jonah Lomu not pulled on the famous All Blacks jersey, chief executive Steve Tew said this week.
Lomu, who became rugby’s first global superstar after his performances at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, unexpectedly died in Auckland on Wednesday, after battling kidney disease for 20 years. He was 40.
The former winger had just returned to New Zealand after attending the World Cup in England, where he had been fulfilling commercial obligations fostered by his previous exploits.
“We should reflect on the amazing contribution that Jonah made,” Tew said, after expressing the sorrow his organisation felt at Lomu’s death.
“I think it’s fair to say that his bursting onto the international stage took the game to another level.
“(It) was probably an important spark for the game getting the opportunity to go fully professional, because what he did at the ’95 World Cup certainly turned heads.
“I know that the television channels certainly saw rugby as an opportunity to put some more very rich content on board after that World Cup.”
Rugby union turned professional after the 1995 World Cup, principally due to a war between television moguls for sports rights.
A story at the time was that Lomu’s exploits so impressed News Corp head Rupert Murdoch that he told one of his television executives, “we have to get this guy”.
Murdoch’s company
sudden later secured a $555 million, 10-year agreement for rights to televise a new southern hemisphere competition involving New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
The International Rugby Board, now World Rugby, later declared the sport ‘open’ for professionalism on the back of the television contract.
While television revenue has formed the backbone of rugby revenues in New Zealand, the All Blacks also have a significant apparel agreement with global sportswear manufacturer Adidas, which came into effect in 1999.
“I think our Adidas contract probably was initiated by (former Adidas head) Robert LouisDreyfus seeing him (Lomu) play in the World Cup,” Tew added.
Estimates put that agreement, extended in 2008 until 2019, at about THE hashtag #HeynekeMustFall has been bandied about recently, but is that the right option?
Is it perhaps a good time to try out continuity through World Cups for the national coach?
Whatever the opinion, the result of Bok coach Heyneke Meyer’s upcoming ‘employment review’ will split allegiances.
Saru have shown their hand far too early, offering Meyer a follow-up contract to the next World Cup before the latest one even began. There is public pressure for something new and exciting, and perhaps even foreign.
Meyer led his team to a respectable thirdplace at the World Cup, but results on paper tell a very different story to the game that was played on the field.
The Springboks’ narrow two-point loss to the All Blacks in the semi-finals looked like a good effort, but in all honesty, it showed up a game plan that was far from the pinnacle of international rugby.
There is a strong movement in rugby to cast the net wide, and utilise talents from other regions. The Japanese, the Scots, Irish and Welsh – to name a few – all employed foreign coaches in order to improve different aspects of their game.
But what of South Africa: are the Boks ready for a foreign head coach?
Former All Black and Lions coach John Mitchell believes there is more to it than sacking Meyer for a flavour of the month coach. So if firing the coach is more complicated than it sounds – and it is, ask England, who have struggled to find someone of international quality – what are the other options?
“One man can’t do it alone. If you look at the successful teams, they usually have a few coaches, all with different strengths and competencies,” Mitchell said.
“I do tend to have a preference that the national coach should come from the country, but you can certainly employ from elsewhere in the coaching group. If it is not a strength or a competency that you have, then you have the chance to search it out.”
That is what Jake White did in his successful 2007 campaign. Eddie Jones was a tactical adviser who played a huge and underrated role in the Boks’ campaign. There is a mindset in South African rugby that is difficult to break: if the sum total of your coaching staff share the same views, there is little chance to evolve through innovation.
The Boks do have a few foreigners in their ranks: John McFarland and Richie Gray – English and Scottish – have roles on defence and at the breakdown respectively, but that is not where South Africa need a change in mindset. It is on attack. $25m a year, while American insurer AIG reportedly paid about $80m in 2012 to have their logo placed on the front of the jersey.
NZR have attempted to capitalise on the commercial success of the All Blacks with matches in Hong Kong, Tokyo and the US as they look to extend into non-traditional rugby markets.
The recognition of the All Blacks brand in farflung places was something Tew had noted whenever he travelled with Lomu.
“I had the opportunity to travel occasionally to places where Jonah was certainly a magnet for a lot of attention. He was probably the game’s first superstar,” Tew said.
“He was the first big star of the game, certainly from our neck of the woods, and he turned some big heads in the business world.”
“You have got to make a choice, and it is either a South African head coach with a foreigner being responsible for attack, for example. Or, have a foreign head coach that will be instrumental in implementing an innovative attack,” Mitchell added, laying out the options.
“But knowing the nation, they are likely to take the conservative approach – which, in this instance, is to have a national coach with a foreigner in the group to mix things up.”
The idea of a foreign assistant is a comfortable middle ground. Saru get the continuity they believe is best, while the Boks get an outside influence that could help fill the deficiencies which are so clear when they face the likes of the All Blacks.
There is still a problem with keeping Meyer on for the sake of continuity. If you look at coaches who have been successful after being given a second chance, there are similarities not present with the current Bok team.
Graham Henry suffered a poor 2007 campaign, but the All Blacks persisted with him and he ended up winning in 2011.
However, as Mitchell explains, with firsthand knowledge, the players in that team were at different stages of their careers in 2007 to those of the Boks now.
“When I left the All Blacks, they persevered with Henry after a poor performance in 2007, but he was surrounded by competency,” the former Kiwi coach added. “Yet I made the brave and courageous decisions of changing the talent in my term, which then allowed the All Blacks to have those players on their books for nine to 11 years.”
Some of the players Mitchell talks about are Richie McCaw and Dan Carter. The Boks are in a transitional stage at the moment, with a huge exodus already taking place. The new crop of players coming in probably won’t be World Cup winning-standard come 2019 – especially under Meyer – so the Boks’ shot at glory would then only be in 2023, making continuity only really effective if Meyer is given three terms – which is highly impractical.
“The point of difference is that there is not going to be continuity in the same player group, so does Meyer have the skill set to be able to develop a young team, playing an attractive style of football in his second term?” Mitchell concluded, with a rhetorical questioning hanging in the air.