Heyneke Meyer
If international coaches were judged on passion for their country rather than results, Heyneke Meyer would rank alongside anyone in rugby union’s history. Never has a badge been gripped so tightly at anthem time. The 48-year-old lived each game as if his life depended on it. When the Springboks won it was all worthwhile; when they lost it was painful to behold.
Sadly, it was those gut-twisting defeats that Meyer could ultimately not escape. Not unlike Stuart Lancaster with England, he will be remembered as an extraordinarily decent man who could not quite generate sufficient on-field success. To be the coach of a Springbok team beaten by Japan at a World Cup is hardly a recipe for securing a shiny new four-year contract.
And so Meyer has stepped off the stressful, unpredictable Bok wagon before he was pushed. On his better days – and South Africa won 67% of their games under his stewardship – the Boks were well-motivated, grimly physical, defensively impressive and tricky to beat. On the debit side he persisted with senior players who were visibly past their best and South Africa’s attacking game was seldom as dangerous as their leading rivals.
That aspect of the game is continually evolving and maybe Meyer knew in his heart of hearts that, even if reappointed, he could not simply revert to the uncomplicated, forward-dominated method that worked so well during his provincial glory days with the Blue Bulls in Pretoria. South Africa also lost to Argentina for the first time before the World Cup and, while gritty in their performances against Wales and New Zealand, rarely looked like repeating their triumph of 2007.
“Since returning from England I have realised that as much as I believe I still have a lot to offer, the time has come for change,” Meyer said. “My integrity has always been very important and I feel I can leave with my head held high. I’ve always maintained that my only motivation was to serve my country and to do what was best for the Springboks.”
He will also have been aware of the rising external pressure from those who feel transformation within South African rugby requires fresh impetus. Rather than following England’s example and appointing an overseas coach, Meyer’s likely successor is Allister Coetzee, who hails from the Eastern Cape and would appease the vocal lobby who insist the Springboks remain too white in their thinking.
Coetzee, 52, was an assistant coach alongside Eddie Jones when South Africa won the World Cup in 2007 under Jake White and has coached the Stormers in Cape Town for the past six years. He has just started a new job in Japan with Kobe Kobelco Steelers but, as Jones has just shown, that does not preclude him from a U-turn should a national union come calling.
The experienced Coetzee is also a less divisive figure than South Africa’s first black coach, Peter de Villiers, and, if appointed, would be able to select from an increasingly deep pool of youthful promise in the shape of players such as Handre Pollard and Jesse Kriel. The South African Rugby Union, however, is also committed to non-whites making up half of all domestic and national squads by 2019. During the World Cup they were required to include seven non-white players, including two black Africans, in their 23-man match squads.
Juggling such imperatives with the need to keep winning Test matches makes the South Africa coaching job as demanding as any in the world. Many of the provincial unions, who were due to vote next week on whether or not to retain Meyer, were already agitating for his removal, with the Western Province president, Thelo Wakefield, suggesting “drastic changes are needed if we want to move South African rugby forward”.
Coetzee, accordingly, could be installed swiftly as the Boks prepare to enter an intriguing new phase. “We have reached a natural watershed in many ways with a significant number of senior players either retiring or moving overseas as well as the fact our strategic transformation plan is now in full swing,” said Saru’s president Oregan Hoskins.
South Africa’s next fixture is not until next June but Meyer’s successor will have his hands full from the outset.
theguardian
a decent summary and I agree with all of it. If Alastair becomes Bok coach(which seems inevitable) then I sincerely hope he’s able to pick a world class attack coach to act as the catalyst for change. We cannot endure more of the same and certainly not more of the same of the Stormers’ approach under AC than we’ve been forced to endure. hopefully he’s learnt.
1 @ Tassies:
Hi Tassies yeah thought it would be good to put an article on this written by someone away from SA.
Talking about Springboks here is the try that Schalk Brits helped set up for Saracens that was referred to on here – http://www.rugby-talk.com/2015/11/aviva-premiership-schonert-scarred-against-soaring-saracens/
Also last weekend here is an ‘unsual’ try that Tim Visser scored, not one you will see each day, he showed good awareness of the laws to go on and score the try:
Jake White’s little side-kick is going to coach the Boks? Skop en jaag rugby hier kom ons, manne!
“And so Meyer has stepped off the stressful, unpredictable Bok wagon before he was pushed.”
Best rugby news of the year! Jipeeee!
With all the talk about him having been reappointed BEFORE the RWC, I wonder if there was any golden handshake involved.
“…if appointed, would be able to select from an increasingly deep pool of youthful promise in the shape of players such as Handre Pollard and Jesse Kriel.”
I should hope not. The Northerners already starting to “dictate” who should be selected. Pollard, we already know, is not as good as many thought he would be while Kriel, a liability on defence, was only selected at 13 to keep Mapoe out.
Let them both prove their worth in SR next year before they can lay a claim to any Bok spot.
Again…JIPEEEEEEE!!! Meyer is GONE…
“There were many highlights during his time as coach and those are the moments we will remember.” (Hoskins)
Name them.
@ kwas:
“Jake White’s little side-kick is going to coach the Boks? Skop en jaag rugby hier kom ons, manne!”
What kind of rugby did we play under his Heynekeness?
Any kind of rugby under any coach would be better than the kak HM producedthe last four years.
Heyneke GONE… what a great day for Bok rugby.
Good news for SA rugby. But wait, AC is waiting in the wings. All he knows is defence and scoring penalties.
Wow 16 more Fifa officials current or past are under investigation for corruption by the US. The numbers of the allegations seem to amount to at least hundreds of millions of dollars, that’s US not ZIm dollars!
@ Nama:
#6 Hi Nama regarding your Polllard and Kriel comments not sure who the Northerners are you refer to but this article is from a UK based publication and so more than likely written by a more objective ‘outsider’ without the perceptions and agendas and disappointments of people who are closer to the Boks like fans etc
@ 12 Bullscot:
Howdy Bullscot – you are correct, the article was written by one Robert Kitson, the rugby union correspondent for the Guardian. He has worked for the paper since 1999. And one would accordingly be justified to conclude that he is a knowledgeable objective outsider.
@ Angostura:
Hi Angostura how are you doing? Yes that is the point was trying to make so it seems he rates those two players based onwhat he has seen of them playing without the tinted spectacles of fans. From what he wrote it doesn’t claim for them to be the best completed articles yet but he sees their potential.
All I know is that if Toetie picks Pollard there is a dog somewhere that’s going to get a kicking.
Good start in Dubai for the Blitzboks: SA 33/7 Samoa; SA 45/0 Russia. Not as good a start for Scotland who are in same pool as SA. Scotland 17/14 Russia, Scotland 12/17 Samoa. Scotland still to play SA and Samoa play Russia in the pool so it looks as if Samoa and Blitzboks should go through to the knockout stages of the Cup. Disappointing for Scotland 7s.
gunther wrote:
Toetie is going to bring Peter Grant back…and also Deon Fourie 🙂
If HM was allowed to bring his favourites back from the rugby grave then surely Toetie must be allowed to do the same?
Poor Proteas..84/7…and this time they cannot even blame the pitch as India made nearly 350.
They can still blame the weather, or the food, or the ball, or the injuries, or Dale Steyn’s tattoo artist, or the ANC … I suppose.
@ robzim:
Hi robzim that’s terrible what is going on with the team. India can be a difficult place to tour but even so to play so badly for the number of games they have is odd? Need to turn things around quickly with the incoming England tour soon.
Alan Solomons has extended his contract with Edinburgh Rugby until June 2017. This 2015/16 season is his in third in charge at the club and think his contract was due to run out at the end of this one.
And I read that the EP Kinks have lost another coach; this time head coach Charl(?) Janse van Rensburg, who was only appointed about two months ago, has walked out apparently because he hasn’t been paid.
Bravo Sheeky, bravo SARU, bravo The Eminent Peoples/Persons(?) Group in Parliament…
Funch of Barts
Heineken, was the Springbok Coach from 2012 until 2015:
During that time the following Nations had a winning percentage of:
Wallabies…………….57.1%
Frogs…………………..44.4%
Poms…………………..60.9%
Bog Leapers………..59.1%
Jocks………………….37.5%
Taffies…………………55.3%
NZ and Argentine percentages are irrelevant due to their extremes.
South Africa’s winning percentage under Heineken was ………………………………………………………….66.7%
That makes SA ………………………under Heineken, ………………. the second most successful International Team during his tenure.
Measured against what some, (though not myself), say was/is the greatest All Black team ever.
You lot have no shame.
You are a shameful lot.
I raise my glass to Coach Meyer.
Also to Coach Stuart Lancaster.
It’s not you two who should go………………………………. but the fukkers that appointed you.
The fukkers that have not given you,………………………….a chance of redemption.
Where would NZ Rugby be………………………………. if we had not given Graham Henry and Steve Hanson a second nibble of the cherry?…………………………………………….I shudder to think…………………………………………….It’s nightmare material.
You learn a lot from playing the game.
And you learn from winning.
But you learn more from your mistakes than you ever do from anything else.
Go well Heineken (and Lancaster).
@ cane:
Yep “he” had a few lowlights this year, but less we forget, record winning margin in the RC, first win in france in 16 years, 2 undefeated tours to europe in a row, first win in brisbane in 30 odd years and smashing them in the process.
There was promise but the pressure from the rugby public began to tell in the end where it was never sa vs the opposition but the boks vs the oposition vs supposed bok supporters. And this became clear even at the first match the boks played under Meyer.
MacroPolo wrote:
Cane, I do not think you fully understand the situation in SA….it goes much further than only winning percentages and winning tours to Europe.
The bloke stuffed up repeatedly at the transformation stakes and got cold feet when the going got tough and he went back into the Laager… and the sponsors reacted….and many fans turned… and his record against the top team is pathetic in comparison to his immediate predecessors… a winning percentage of 68% means not much if a team loses 7/8 against the AB’s… SA do not want to be second but first….
Why did you guys not give Mitchell a second nibble at the cherry too? He might have been more successful than Henry, who knows? But there were other reasons why he was not given a second chance, …same story with Heynecke only the(other) reasons are different …
@ robzim:
@ 24 is meant for Cane
@ robzim:
Of course the Kiwi supporters want Meyer to stay…easy pickings for them for the next 4 years
@ gunther:
Haha…
Naah boet, won’t happen. The dog being kicked that is.
@ cane:
1/8 against the AB
One loss and a draw against Argentina. (No SA coach has ever draw against them let alone lose against them.
0/1 against Japan
The only reason why his record at adequate at 67%, is because he played Arg TWICE a year when they were still ranked outside the top 10. He also only played NZ twice a year compared to JW and PdV who had to face them THRICE a year in their four year tenure as coaches, excluding the RWC years of course.
Imagine what his percentage would’ve looked like if he had to face NZ 11 times and Arg only once during his period as coach, like PdV for example.
No silverware in 4 years.
No boet, apples with apples, please.
@ cane:
Would you lot have been so forgiving had Hansen lost first to the Argies, and then a few games later to the Japs? And would you have accepted your team regressing and looking like a bunch of dinosaurs, with no clue on how to play the modern game?
@ Lion4ever:
Yeah… good questions.
1/8 vs AB = 12.5%
1.5 from 9 vs Arg = 83.3% (All the other Bok coaches in history boast a 100% winning record.
0/1 vs Japan = 0%
Then there’s that little matter of the manner in which we won some of our games.
Penalty try in the last minute against Wales.
Dubious penalty, after a TV producer influenced the refs decision, against the AB.
That’s two that comes to mind. Important to keep this in mind also.
Hoskins says it as it is:
“But after those talks, the decision (made by Meyer to resign) did not come as a surprise. We discussed a number of issues, one of them being our transformation imperatives. We had an open and frank discussion on that issue because, for me, it was an important issue.
“In the next four years in the buildup to the next World Cup, transformation will be key for this organisation, and it’s something we’re discussing all the time. We have a duty to meet the transformation imperatives that we have signed off for with the Sports Ministry and that we’ve agreed to.”
http://www.supersport.com/rugby/springboks/news/151204/Transformation_imperatives_forced_Meyers_hand
It is all about politics, nobody must think for one moment it is rugby first, and politics second in our beautiful but more divided than every country.
In this political context, it is not easy for any coach, and Hansen himself mentioned it:
http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/WorldCup/Hansen-feels-for-Meyer-over-selection-criteria-20151022
Therefore I can understand that the new coach should be much more politically correct and more anc politics sensitive. HM tried, but was not good enough.
I am all for a SA coach, but since we do not have any one currently better in SA and available, maybe it is time to go for a overseas coach ?
But I think the ANC-SARU organization will stay with the saffa policy, it is easier to manupilate a south african, especially a white south african with some politics of guilt and pity to force his hand.
A(n)C Coetzee will have a tough job, but his skin colour is to his advantage, that will relief some pressure for him to try and concentrate on rugby, because we all know he is up to now, in no way a better RUGBY coach on CB and superrugby level as were HM.
Cane, thank you for some perspective, but hey, do not think for one moment that the Heyneke haters will have anything good to say about HM. Some coach go down to a mediocre Aussie team 0-49 (White), someone go down 3-92 in superrugby (Jones), others lose to Wales the first time (Mallet?), others were very successful in superrugby (Deans) but not so in testrugby, but they are still considered by the haters as good/great coaches.
Not so mr. Heyneke Meyer, he must go down in history as the worst coach ever, like the ANC, these haters demands it. Their philosophy iin life is, we must hate one, to love another ?
And what does mr. Hansen know telling the whole world that HM is a ‘good coach’, he is only the NZ coach of maybe the best rugby team ever. According to these haters, Hansen must be telling lies about HM.
The loss against the Argies were really no shame, they are a great team, it is only the defeat against Japan that were really shameful. But most or all coaches had something like that in the past. All learn from mistakes, but HM must not learn from it, he must be punished by history.
The SA tragedy is deap seated, it is not about rugby, it is a sad way of life, some people unfortunately vent their hate via sports. Like our SA history, people like to hate and rejoice to see someone fail and fall. VIVA ! …. but maybe that is a sad reflection of their own sorrowful lives, sadly ?
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