Fired Drotske to break with rugby
HIS departure as Cheetahs head coach had been anticipated, but the decision to completely step away from the game was not one many had expected from Naka Drotske.
The Cheetahs yesterday announced that Franco Smith would be replacing long-serving Drotske as Super Rugby coach as of November 1, but that the former Bok hooker would be seeing out his duties for the remainder of the competition.
The Cheetahs have five games left this season and find themselves 12th on the Super Rugby points table with no prospect of making the play-offs for a second time.
They made the play-offs, the undoubted highlight in their time under Drotske, in 2013 but ultimately the coach’s about 30% win rate from 114 games caught up with him.
Some will argue that Drotske had been unfortunate, losing the core of a side already stretched for playing resources. The loss of Lood de Jager, Heinrich Brüssow, Oupa Mohoje, Willie le Roux, Johann Sadie, Coenie van Wyk and more lately Coenie Oosthuizen all had a debilitating affect on the team.
The winds of discontent grew stronger in Bloemfontein when the team underwhelmed on their tour of Australasia.
Drotske, who won the Currie Cup as player, captain, team manager and coach between 2005 and 2007, was lavishly praised by Cheetahs’ managing director Harold Verster in a press release. He was not the only casualty.
Forwards coach Os du Randt, who will be coaching abroad, will be replaced by Corniel van Zyl, the bean- pole lock who helped them to three Currie Cup titles. Van Zyl, who represented Italy in seven tests, including the last World Cup, will return from Treviso where he is the player-coach.
Current backline coach Hawies Fourie, who is also Griquas’ Currie Cup coach, is still in negotiations with Smith about resuming his role.
Attempts to reach Drotske were unsuccessful but director of rugby Rory Duncan said: “Naka has been afforded a fantastic business opportunity. He is a great businessman. It is a product that focuses on fire protection.”
If only Drotske had something that could insulate against the vagaries of coaching rugby in South Africa.