SA Rugby confirmed on Tuesday that Welshman Aled Walters, head of athletic performance, would return to the United Kingdom as soon as coronavirus travel restrictions allow, to be with his family and friends. 

It’s a huge blow to the Springboks because Walters has been one of the main cylinders of the Bok engine, driving team performances forward. His training regimes were manicured to meet former Bok coach Rassie Erasmus’s tactical approach and honed over 20 months. With Jacques Nienaber now elevated from defence to head coach, there was an expectation that Walters’ methods would seamlessly carry over into the post-RWC 2019 era. 

Aled Walters working with Handre Pollard during the South African national rugby team training session at Insep High Performance Centre on November 8 2018 in Paris. (Photo: Steve Haag / Gallo Images)

In theory that should happen, as the intellectual property and training blueprints Walters leaves behind can be accessed by Nienaber and his fellow coaches. But having the theory is one thing. Walters’ dynamic and warm personality, which left players feeling challenged, but safe, cannot easily be replicated. Walters’ training regimes were driven as much by his personality as his technical knowledge. 

One of the keys to the Boks’ success in Yokohama six months ago, when they beat England 32-12 in the final of RWC 2019, was that they made it to the main game with few injuries. 

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth chats to Walters and forward coach Matt Proudfoot during the South African national rugby team training session at Arcs Urayasu Park on September 16, 2019 in Urayasu, Japan. (Photo: Steve Haag / Gallo Images)

Prop Trevor Nyakane and centre Jesse Kriel were the only casualties of the campaign prior to the final and neither were first-choice players. By the time Erasmus sat down to finalise his team for the Springboks’ biggest match in a generation, he had a fully fit squad to choose from. 

More importantly, he had a squad that was also physically peaking at the right time. The players had not faded physically and mentally during the tournament, but grown and improved. By the time captain Siya Kolisi – himself a beneficiary of Walters’ rigorous and meticulous conditioning regime – led the team on to the pitch and into history, they were in near perfect shape. 

Walters during the Springbok team’s captain’s run at Principality Stadium on 23 November 2018 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo: Steve Haag / Gallo Images / Getty Images)

One of the main reasons the team faced England in such good condition was that only players who participated in every training session would be considered for selection. It sounds like an obvious demand, but a culture had crept in where some key players sat out a few sessions a week and were then picked. Instead of putting themselves through pain and pressure in training, they sat out and as a consequence match performances mirrored attitudes to training. 

Under Erasmus, and driven by Walters’ intensity, there were seldom exceptions to the rule as everyone was compelled to push to the limit in practice. In many ways, matches were the easiest 80 minutes of a typical week. 

Walters, who was Erasmus’ first major signing when he took up the Bok reins in early 2018, was also his most important. Erasmus worked with Walters in a 20-month stint at Irish club Munster and was convinced that he was the man to ensure the players’ conditioning matched Erasmus’ gameplan.

“It’s obviously sad to lose someone of Aled’s ability, but we understand that the unprecedented times we are in, brings about difficult challenges and we respect his wish to return to the United Kingdom,” said Erasmus. 

“Aled has made an enormous impact since joining the Springboks in 2018 and I know that… the whole squad will be sad to see him go.” 

Walters said he had enjoyed his time with the Springboks and added that he is returning to the United Kingdom for personal reasons. 

“My tenure with the Springboks can be described as some of the best times I’ve had in rugby, but these are uncertain times and the wish to be closer to families based in Wales and Ireland was a key consideration in making what was a very hard decision,” said Walters. 

Super-fit Boks dominated the business end of games under Walters 

Walters’ impact on the team became obvious throughout 2019 as the Boks finished games strongly, not only because of Erasmus’s smart manipulation of the bench, but because of the players’ physical fitness. 

The Boks “won” the second half of 11 of the 12 Tests they played in 2019. The exception was the RWC 2019 semi-final against Wales, which was 10-10. But even in that match, they “won” the crucial last 10 minutes. 

In every other match last season, the opposition scored fewer points than South Africa after halftime. Much of that comes down to superior fitness and fresher athletes as well as clever squad rotation. 

“Our idea was that the players needed to shave some body fat off because the players needed to be able to run and move more easily,” Walters told Daily Maverick shortly after the final. “Trimming body fat was key to that part of the game plan. 

“That was the broad picture, but then we also had to be clever around matches. We only had a six-day turnaround going into the final (England had seven days) so we needed to go into it with as little fatigue as possible.” 

Despite a hugely physical semi-final against Wales and one day less to prepare and recover for the final, the Boks always looked the stronger and fitter team against England. 

In one period of play, shortly before halftime, they managed to repel England through 25 phases of attack close to their line. It was a combination of attitude and a superb defensive system devised by Nienaber. But it could only have succeeded with supremely fit and healthy players, who were repeatedly able to make a tackle and get back to their feet quickly, ready to make another tackle. The body had to be able to match a willing mind. Walters can take credit for that. 

The fear now is that Walters will be recruited by the British & Irish Lions for their 2021 tour to South Africa, where his intimate knowledge of the team and their physiology could be used against them. 

Walters is the second member of the victorious management to depart after forwards coach Matt Proudfoot took up an overseas offer. Erasmus has stated that he wants the next four years to build on the success of RWC 2019, and not waste the foundation as happened in previous generations after the Boks won the 1995 and 2007 World Cups. But with two key components of the management structure out the door, fulfilling that promise is becoming harder. 

“Since we started working again, everything is back to normal. In 1995 and 2007 we lost an opportunity, and I’m desperate to make sure we don’t [lose that opportunity] again,” Erasmus said on SA Rugby’s newly launched podcast. 

“There’s a difference between hope and happiness, and everyone said when we won we gave people hope. I feel we gave them hope and happiness. If we now take our foot off the peddle by playing badly and our win record dips, by not doing as well with transformation and by not being open, transparent and honest with the media and the supporters, then I feel we’ll be a failure again like after 1995 and 2007. 

“It was lovely to win the World Cup, but I’m feeling more pressure now because I don’t want the next generation – like my own children – in the year 2035 to say we dropped the ball after 2019. We want to make sure that hope stays hope and it’s not a short happiness spell.” 

Losing Walters shouldn’t derail that hope, but it has certainly set it back a few steps. DM