Brendan Venter believes South African rugby will make huge strides over the next several years.
Ex Keo. venterisa man whose vies have to be taken seriously.
The last couple weeks saw great signs for rugby in the Republic. With the Springboks showing early promise in the Test series victory over England (only after a few weeks under new head coach Heyneke Meyer’s mentorship) and the Baby Boks downing four-time champions New Zealand to their first Junior World Championship crown, it seems like a new era has begun. An era that paints a positive picture.
Baby Bok assistant coach and former Springbok centre Venter agreed. He pointed out that both teams were playing a the kind of game plan that Meyer wants to establish, which will help the juniors make an easier step-up into the Test squad.
‘Heyneke will be delighted with the way the Baby Boks have performed,’ Venter told keo.co.za. ‘They showed the kind of system that the senior Springboks have played against England. And it’s definitely effective. They Springboks have scored many tries over the last couple of Tests (6), and the Baby Boks crossed the chalk on many occasions too (19, the highest try count in the competition).
‘There’s definitely a bright future ahead. This Baby Bok class has shown that there’s a lot to look forward to.’
However, there was a concern during the Junior World Championship campaign as the players showed poor skills at times. South Africa’s junior national representatives shouldn’t be struggling with the basics.
However, Venter revealed that Baby Bok head coach Dawie Theron is setting structures at all age-group levels to improve issue.
‘We definitely need better skills at our junior levels,’ said Venter. ‘Dawie is working on this and certain plans will be put in place at U13, U16 and U18 levels. Dawie’s doing a great job to improve the youth. We have talented young players – guys who have all-round abilities. There are also very good black players coming through the ranks, who are strong runners and will improve with a finer attention to detail.’
When asked whether he will stay on the Baby Bok management team next year, Venter hinted that this could be a possibility. During the tournament build-up, it was believed that he and other assistant coach Nazeem Adams were only temporary candidates.
‘This was a great ride,’ said Venter. And I really enjoyed my time with Dawie and Nazeem. We will have a chat about what happens, but I really had an enjoyable time coaching the team.’
Venter should be the Bok backline coach - end of story.
