Southern Pukes vs Free State Cheetahs to play in Curry Cup --Drotske's job on the line?

The future of Toyota Free State Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske and his assistants is very much on the line when they face the EP Kings in Bloemfontein in their promotion-relegation match on Friday.

But Drotske and co may not be the only ones who come under the spotlight, as a much wider-reaching “cleanout” is on the cards if the Cheetahs do not stay in the Premier division of Absa Currie Cup rugby and lose to the Kings.

While there is a lot of pressure on Drotske and his team this week, it has been compounded by talk in Bloemfontein of “heads rolling” if the Cheetahs lose.

Free State Rugby Union President Lyndsey Mould told Die Volksblad that he would launch an investigation as early as next week into why the Cheetahs were in this position.

“If we beat the EP Kings on Friday or not, I want to get all the decision makers together and if we have to act aggressively, we will do that,” Mould told the newspaper.

“A lot of things have gone wrong this season and we have played without a number of our stalwarts, but that is no excuse. There simply isn’t any excuse.”

The Cheetahs have thus far stuck by coach Drotske, even though he has never managed to finish higher than 10th in the Vodacom Super Rugby series and their last Currie Cup success was in 2007.

The team is also playing in its first promotion-relegation game since 1988, and a loss would be devastating to the union.

“If we are to be relegated, it will have major consequences for the Free State Rugby Union. We will lose sponsorships and that will mean that everybody’s jobs will be on the line. Friday night is all that the players and management must focus on, nothing else.”

But Free State Cheetahs CEO Harold Verster has defended the team, saying they are well managed and that it was too early to talk about firing coaches.

“We have to right the wrongs, no matter how hard it is. In any business if there is trouble, then you need to look at the problems and make the necessary decisions to right them,” Verster said.

“There are many people who think that Free State Rugby is badly run, but I don’t see it. We are a professional entity. When we applied for a Super Rugby franchise, we were second best of all the local teams because of our business plan. The Cheetahs are still run on the same plan.”

Verster said Toyota were committed to the team until the end of 2013.

 Drotskie must be sleeping well this week.

LOL @ Sharkbok. I feel for Naka. I reckon he is actually a good coach, but all his decent players get poached by the bigger unions. After all is said and done, the Cheetahs have actually achived quite a lot with the limited resources they have.

The only thing that the Cheetahs managed to achieve in Super Rugby was to stay ahead of the piss poor Lions outfit. The players being poached is an equally poor excuse. They have not made any progress in the S15 and I agree with Lyndsey Mould. They have to act agressively and they have to do it sooner, rather than later.

Bongani, not sure what you are smoking, but if you reckon having all your players of real value bought by other unions is not going to have an effect on your results, then you must either be high or mad!

Agree Bluebok the heart of the Cheethas problems is finance. If the y could keep their players they would certainly be a top franchise. Naka has done well in the circumstances.

bluebok

Status: Bok regular
Posts: 587 RE: Southern Pukes vs Free State Cheetahs to play in Curry Cup --Drotske's job on the line?
October 16, 2012, 15:22:41

Bongani, not sure what you are smoking, but if you reckon having all your players of real value bought by other unions is not going to have an effect on your results, then you must either be high or mad!

Why is that the case?

Beeno, why is finance a problem at the Cheetahs?

@Bluebok I agree their problem is players getting poached by other unions.

However this raises questions as to why FreeState is not a profitable business than cant afford to pay salaries that are competitive with other unions. The should either attact venture capital from an investment firm or sponsor or else they need to make money by selling players. Either way they should be increasing capital to actually maintain enough of their players to make a competitive team.

Free State Rugby Union President Lyndsey Mould told Die Volksblad that "he would launch an investigation right away".

Perhaps the investigation should be on President Lyndsey, not the coach. Financial issues are the underlying causes of not being able to pay competitive salaries and retain their staff.

This is typical corporate boardroom stuff. The people who get to the top of many businesses are often political back stabbers. Western Province Rob Wagner is a master at this. He will allways make the coach a scapegoat

Bluebok, I am not a smoker. As they say in Afrikaans: "As ek wil stink, kak ek sommer in my broek". All the unions loose players all over the show. How many players have the Blue Bulls lost. How many of the WP players were away for the most of the CC competition. Same goes for the Sharks and the Blue Bulls. How many players have the Cheetahs lost during the Rugby Championship.

The impression that the Cheetahs is a strong union is created by their showing in the S15, but that is influenced by the presence of the Griquas players, who really represent the best players in the Cheetahs S15 squad, and that is reflected in the final standings on the log.

Go look at the players that all the other unions have lost since the 2011 CC final, compared to the Cheetahs.