IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Brendan Venter says SA Rugby and fans should be patient with Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus.
In a column for stuff.co.nz, Venter, who is former Bok centre and assistant coach, believes Erasmus should be given enough time to implement his own long-term plan. He also believes the current focus should rather be on the Boks’ progress and performance under Erasmus, rather than results
“As much as we want to blame [Heyneke] Meyer and [Allister] Coetzee for the Springboks’ slump in recent times – losing to Japan and suffering a record defeat to the All Blacks – we can’t cast them as scapegoats because Erasmus is now also struggling. And if he keeps on chopping and changing, because all he is looking at is results and winning at all costs, he will follow the same path as his predecessors.
“The powers that be need to be patient with Erasmus, so that he can buck the trend and implement a long-term vision. The fact the Springboks have slipped to their joint-lowest world ranking of seventh doesn’t bother me. My issue is not with rankings and results because I measure progress and performance.
“I live my life as a coach and doctor based on simple principles. The trick is to follow the process and be performance-driven.”
Venter says there is a “combination of factors” contributing to the decline in South African rugby.
“Erasmus is a very good coach, with strong pedigree but he was naïve by stating publicly that he must be judged solely on results and transformation, which are purely numbers-driven.
“In Mendoza, the Boks lost comfortably and there were only nine players of colour in the 23-man side, which is below the 50 percent transformation target. It was a double whammy for South Africa. In some way, I hope the public can understand the pressures on the national coach and be more lenient as the process unfolds. If they can cut the Springboks some slack and remain patient, the team will have a much better chance in the long run.
“Perhaps the public will have the wisdom to understand that nothing that happens over a long period of time ever has a simple solution. We are trying to treat the patient (South African rugby) but we are getting the diagnosis wrong. There is not one thing alone that is crippling South African rugby. However, everyone wants to blame the quota system, the player exodus or the coaches. The bottom line is that it’s a combination of factors, which are currently adversely affecting South African rugby.
“We need to come up with some way of evaluating where we want to go and what progress would look like from a Springbok perspective. Being results-based is the polar opposite of a performance-driven mentality and doesn’t translate to a high-performance environment.
“In said environment, you evaluate the performance and, if you are beaten by a better team, you try to come up with a new plan, improve where you failed and make the aspects of your game you are good at even better.
“The Holy Grail within any environment is consistency and longevity. In a performance-driven environment, even in the bad years you are still good. Springbok rugby needs to follow that model.”
Source: stuff.co.nz
