SA Rugby president Mark Alexander hailed a draft blueprint for the South African game as a huge milestone, following the third coaching indaba in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The Springbok coaching staff and local franchise coaches met for a third time to discuss and finalise a coaching blueprint for South African rugby. The coaches were joined by Alexander, Francois Davids (deputy president) and James Stoffberg (vice-president).
Wednesday’s gathering was a resumption of the coaches’ indaba first held in Cape Town in December last year, with the main aim of designing a new direction for Springbok rugby and to address on-field performance by South African teams.
The draft version of the SA Rugby Blueprint was presented at the meeting following the two previous coaches’ gatherings. According to some of the outcomes of Wednesday’s meeting, the identification and implementation of key rugby fundamentals will be done at franchise and Springbok level, and the blueprint will now be shared with all national teams and local franchises.
'There is also a much clearer understanding on the resting and playing time of Springboks, while a national conditioning strategy will be finalised within the next two weeks,' read a SA Rugby press release that was sent out after the meeting.
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Alexander described the draft blueprint as a huge milestone for South African rugby.
'We now have the guiding principles of a much needed blueprint for South African rugby and the draft is the result of excellent collaboration between the local franchise coaches and the Springbok coaching staff,' the SA Rugby president said. 'Co-operation and collective action is key for the implementation and success of this blueprint.
'We are not expecting all our teams to play exactly the same game, but it will be good to see our Super Rugby teams use similar fundamentals when it comes to the basics of the game, and from there use their own unique style in their game plans. South African rugby can only prosper if our unions and coaches collaborate with one another in the implementation of our collective plan. This blueprint plan does not dictate your provincial or franchise game plan, but it is a necessary strategic framework for our rugby.
'It is my firm belief that the coming together of local coaching experts and their sharing of knowledge, aided by their desire to improve our game, will put the Springboks in a better position in terms of preparation for their June series against France and the rest of the international season.
'Some of the important topics discussed during the three indabas included learnings from the last few seasons, player contracting, player retention and succession planning as well as the development and retention of local coaches,' added Alexander.
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
