John Smit’s prediction over how the relationship between Sean Everitt and Neil Powell would unfold at the Sharks has taken new relevance in the wake of the head coach’s sacking. DYLAN JACK reports.
The Sharks on Monday evening confirmed they had pulled the trigger on Everitt 24 hours after the humiliating 35-0 loss to Cardiff at a rainy Kings Park.
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Everitt’s removal as head coach comes after the Sharks struggled to get out the starting blocks this season despite having heavily invested in the squad and recruiting former Blitzboks coach Neil Powell as the new director of rugby.
Powell was initially set to be brought on as an assistant coach, but was promoted above Everitt before the second Vodacom United Rugby Championship season got underway.
It was just last month that former Sharks and Springbok captain John Smit, who in 2015 served as the Durban franchise’s CEO, highlighted the delicacy of relations between Everitt and Powell would be.
“It’s going to be pretty critical how this unfolds. The most dangerous thing in the world is a man’s ego. It’s the thing that blocks most progress,” said Smit during a URC roundtable discussion with the media.
“I don’t think that either of them have big egos. I do think that this relationship has the potential to work, but it all depends on what Neil’s role as director of rugby is going to be.
“The term ‘director of rugby’ is thrown around loosely, but it has many different meanings, depending on the franchise and part of the world you are in.
“There’s controlling the structure, the teams and the style of play in general as well as contracting of players. Then there are hands-on directors of rugby, which Jake White is at the Bulls. He makes the calls and coaches the team.”
Powell, who has been an active part of training sessions since officially taking up his role last month, has been installed as the head coach for the rest of the season.
However, Smit’s thoughts on Powell’s transition from coaching the Blitzboks to coaching the Sharks also serve as a warning to the former scrumhalf.
“We must bear in mind that I don’t think Neil can come in guns blazing,” said Smit. “To my knowledge, this is his first 15s job and he is in charge of one of possibly one of the biggest rugby squads with the most internationals out in the modern game at the moment.
“He’s also in a very different environment. In sevens, you have athletes who are normally on the periphery of the 15s game. They have a different body type and are willing to do almost anything to get into that Stellenbosch camp, whether that’s training three times a day, running all day or doing fitness. It’s also a very different remuneration package.
“Now he has a group of players who are extremely well-paid. They are extremely experienced and successful from an international point of view. It’s a very different set of managerial skills he is going to have to employ.”
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Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
