1
Coetzee sees leadership void in search for new Springboks captain
Allister Coetzee is still wrestling with who to pick to replace Adriaan Strauss as South Africa captain due to a dearth of experienced candidates.
Strauss announced last September that he would retire from Test rugby at the end of 2016, and Coetzee is yet to appoint a replacement with his own Springboks future uncertain until last week.
Since the World Cup in 2015, South Africa have seen stalwarts like Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez and Victor Matfield leave the set up.
Choosing a new skipper is something Coetzee insists he will not rush, stating he will make a decision before a trio of Tests against France in June.
“What has been a big challenge is the lack of senior players and leadership. If you look at the 2015 Rugby World Cup we’ve lost 650 test caps and five captains. It left a bit of a void,” said Coetzee.
“Therefore we are sitting with a young group of Springboks. Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Siya Kolisi are all 26 or younger. They may have played a couple of times but in terms of leadership they are still young.
“These are the guys we need to give the opportunity to grow, and we put them in the position to lead a national team.
“If I had to ask you [the media] who your captain would be, we would have a number of candidates.
“There is a process I’m going to follow, and I’ll definitely appoint a captain before the first two weeks of preparation.”
Coetzee recently ran a three-day training camp with 41 players in Johannesburg, and he is eager to monitor their progress before making his selection for the series against France.
The @Springboks are busy with their last training session before the boys return home in the early afternoon. #LoveRugby pic.twitter.com/4DgaW7PiXs
— South African Rugby (@Springboks) March 7, 2017
He said: “The players arrived in good condition, which shows they have been working hard according to their strength and conditioning programmes.
“There were several new faces that attended a Springbok camp for the first time and the energy and enthusiasm was great to see.
“We will hold two similar camps in the next two months, and that will give us added opportunities to look at more new faces because the Bulls players will for instance not be able to attend the Stellenbosch camp due to their Super Rugby travel commitments.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Comments on RugbyPass
smith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
36 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
36 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
36 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
36 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
36 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
36 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
36 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
36 Go to comments