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Rugby: No honeymoon for Coetzee as Boks notch up another ‘first’

Rugby: No honeymoon for Coetzee as Boks notch up another ‘first’

Allister Coetzee has not been afforded the luxury of a honeymoon period for his tenure at the Springboks and has some hard work ahead if he hopes to change the DNA of South African rugby after the Boks lost the first of three Tests against Ireland on Saturday. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.

The traditionally ceremonious honeymoon period that often befalls new coaches has seemingly escaped the new Springboks coach Allister Coetzee. Not only does he seem to be quietly fighting the South African Rugby Union and its bias against foreign-based players, he started his time in charge of the Boks with another first for the national rugby team.

The new-look Springbok side were given a run for their money against a 14-man Ireland side on Saturday. Ireland’s numbers were reduced after CJ Stander was red-carded in the 23rd minute for a dangerous challenge on Patrick Lambie.

The Boks lost the first of three Tests against Ireland 20-26 at Newlands on Saturday, adding it to the list of “first” misdemeanours of Heyneke Meyer: the first time Ireland have won a Test on South African soil.

Coetzee did not beat about the bush in his assessment of the loss, describing it as “poor” and admitting there were no excuses. While Coetzee is largely right on both those counts, he might be able to write some of the disaster off to a few outside factors.

First and foremost, while international rugby rarely lends itself to adequate preparation, Saru dragged out the announcement of the new coach for far too long. It took them until April to announce the worst-kept secret in world rugby. The first outing is also going to feel slightly fragmented. Coetzee, though, refused to use the lack of time together as a new team as an excuse.

It wasn’t good enough, we know we’re better than this. Our challenge is to get it right next week and to be better next week,” Coetzee said at the post-match conference.

The coach might also be able to find an inkling of solace in the fact that it takes time for a team to re-adjust their approach when a certain type of play has been infused in their DNA. There were fleeting moments of play that showed the Boks are trying to create more space and creative game play, but against a sturdy Ireland defence, it wasn’t quite creative enough.

Worryingly, though, for Coetzee and the Boks is that despite playing a large part of the game with a numbers advantage, they could not translate that into a points or even territorial advantage. They were also guilty of poor discipline, conceding five penalties in the first 10 minutes, something Coetzee attributed to the switch from Super Rugby to Test rugby and saying that a team “cannot allow its discipline to break the rhythm”.

For the most part, the Boks looked directionless and passionless all while still mastering one of the biggest sticking points of the Heyneke Meyer era: the needless kick or simply not kicking at all.

South Africa started off well enough, playing their traditional physical game, but spent much of the first few minutes camped in their own half. Rarely did South Africa manage to put Ireland under pressure, not even through that hideous monstrosity that is the rolling maul.

Coetzee is right when he says there are no excuses, but South African sporting fans also have an incredibly short memory. That they failed to get the basics right, nobody will deny, but such shock losses aren’t anything new in sport. Back in 2006, Jake White’s Springboks were smacked 49-0 by Australia. A year later, they won the World Cup. The thing is, sport ebbs and flows and while South African rugby has sunk to some miserable lows over the last few months, there have been glimpses of what they are capable of and reaching those lofty heights will take astute leadership on all fronts.

Coetzee might not have been allowed a honeymoon, but he has clearly realised that partnerships take a lot of work. Partnerships that are borne out of a previously destructive relationship even more so. How the Boks respond to this could well define this era. DM

Photo: Lwazi Mvovo of South Africa is tackled by Luke Marshall of Ireland during the 2016 Incoming Test Series game between South Africa and Ireland at Newlands Stadium, Cape Town on 11 June 2016 ©Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

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