"There's a gaping hole in the argument peddled by the doom merchants calling for Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer's head.
There are no genuine alternatives banging down the door for a chance. And it's exactly why the air is thick with talk that Meyer will be offered an extension of his four-year term.
Had you been handed free rein to appoint any coach you like, you would probably opt for someone like Robbie Deans, the worldly New Zealander. Refreshingly apolitical and shot through with excellence, he would measure up perfectly.
Trouble is, SA rugby is conservative, and giving the top job to an uitlander would be an admission that local coaching structures aren't good enough. This is precisely why it would never happen. So, rule out John Mitchell and John Plumtree while you're at it.
Predictably, some have called for a return of either Nick Mallett or Jake White. Forget it. SA rugby doesn't do sequels.
It doesn't get easier when you consider other potential claimants to the poisoned chalice. Brendan Venter is too cranky (and too busy); Rassie Erasmus doesn't enjoy the coalface; Allister Coetzee is stuck in Japan, and his final term in Cape Town was tired and complacent; and Gary Gold has his hands full at the Sharks.
More realistic contenders can be found elsewhere. Johan Ackermann was never the most flamboyant lock, but he's flicked the switch at the unsexy Lions. They play entertaining rugby and have rediscovered the art of winning thanks to the most unlikely of figures. Last season, he was named coach of the year.
Johan van Graan is the least known of the contenders. He is one of Meyer's assistants.
The way senior members of the Bok squad talk about him says much for his ability - he is an astute coach whom they rate highly. He was courted by both the Bulls and the Stormers a few weeks ago, turning the Bulls down on account of dad being the boss, and failing to agree financial terms with the Stormers.
Gert Smal was in the race when Meyer got the job four years ago, but he's slipped back in the reckoning. Grinding away in an office at Newlands can do that to you.
In three or four years, perhaps a stab with WP's John Dobson? He's a former rugby writer, which is no bad thing.
The truth is, there's no coach breathing down Meyer's neck. It's only the rest of us who are."
What a pity we are dealing with dinosaurs here. The SA coaching set-up is a disgrace, but the fact is that the public has to put up with it. Lets expand on the disgrace - three Super Rugby coaches has been fired or resigned after two years of failure and they still cannot find replacements.
I would say either of Deans or Plumtree would be the answer - the fact is that our rugby will show progress with those two - at present it is stagnating and further slipping down the ratings table is on the cards. We will soon find ourselves outside the top 8 - the way things are going.
