SA coaches must get past obvious frustration to succeed

The frustration that has been creeping into the tone of local Vodacom United Rugby Championship coaches' voices is easy to understand.

A never-ending 12-month season is catching up to them, and injury lists are longer than normal, while results in the Investec Champions’ Cup have been less than satisfactory.

And something has to change.

Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White, who has been a vocal opponent of selecting players from overseas, believes that by imposing a ban on overseas players, it will force more players to return home and play for their URC clubs.

While White’s assertion is at odds with Springbok World Cup winning coach Rassie Erasmus, whose selection has delivered two World Cups, it isn’t a case of one is wrong and one is right. 

Both arguments have their merits.

White, of course, is staring the obvious in the face. Competing against Super clubs like Leinster, Toulouse and La Rochelle is tough enough, but when your squad depth cannot compete and your player budget isn’t a quarter of the top French clubs, you are going to be at a disadvantage.

That’s why White was honest when he said the same issues that forced them out of the Champions’ Cup early had repeated themselves.

White wasn’t making excuses, but the reality is that the Bulls suffered precisely because they sent a team of fringe players to Castres and lost badly. In every SA franchise the difference between the first choice and second choice team is stark. And it is hurting South African rugby.

White has repeatedly called for a change in the selection policy, but it is doubtful he will hear what he wants from SA Rugby.

Instead, coaches are trying to develop local talent but the conveyor belt isn’t fast enough. 

And White believes that unless something changes, he may have to reassess his role.

“I want to see any coach who will sit here and say, ‘I don’t want to win.’ Every coach wants to win and that’s why you are in this game. It is a bit like last year and I feel like sometimes we go one step forward and four back.”

“The Sharks and the Stormers want to win and every coach who is in this job wants to win, so there is frustration. I want to see whether we are ever going to get to that point and if not, then I‘ll have to accept the lay of the land is different.

“You then have to re-evaluate what your role is. If that role is to bring players through and give them game time while the overseas players are playing and creating depth for rotation for the national team, then we will have to accept that.”

But clearly that isn’t what White wants. While he and other coaches have brought back South Africans from overseas, and the current Bok squad has more newbies from the URC than ever before, it isn’t happening fast enough.

And increasingly these issues are being laid bare in the Champions’ Cup where there is no place to hide.

White did point out that the same happened this past weekend to Stade Francais, who sent young players to Loftus and received a hiding. The SA teams aren’t alone in this - but there is a gulf between the superclubs and the rest.

So what can the Bulls do to close the gap? White says that is a bit more difficult, and takes time.

The talent is there, but the player budgets aren’t so the only option is to work harder and coach smarter to get the local talent to the level where they can compete.

“Sometimes it is of our own doing but that’s why it is called coaching. The art of coaching is also important and it is not always the science of coaching. That’s why I listen to guys like Pep Guardiola and Warren Gatland because everyone has their own uncontrollables they need to sort out and you learn from those coaches.

“I just hope by this time next year, our squad will be stronger. The nice thing is we will be stronger because a guy like Reinhardt Ludwig, who came on after a seven to nine-week injury, will be better next week. Next year he will be a year older and he will be sharper and a more mature player.

“So we are going to get there. It is not all doom and gloom.”

It may not feel that way for SA supporters after a weekend of results that meant that no SA team is in the playoffs of the Champions’ Cup. But White is right. If the right approach is followed, it will pay off.

Whether that payoff comes in time will be interesting to see.