Will Nienaber come out of the shadow of Tannie Harrassmus

One would imagine there are some things Nienaber would do differently given a free hand. Thus far in his tenure there is nothing new, fresh, different. Just a well mannered defense of the status quo. So most fans still view Harrassmus as the de facto coach.

Does Nienaber have the license to change anything…a few set backline moves, a forward who is allowed to offload…does he have the ambition to change anything.

It’s a tough situation either way for this seemingly nice and competent coach. But Harrassmus is many time zones away and may get totally embroiled in the Harrassmus Tape hearings. So like it or not Nienaber may have to be his own man.

They're a team/partners ...and good friends...have been for many years...it's not about ego...if it had beed, the partnership would have crumbled long ago.

A sort of Master Blaster combination? Or is it more like Dr Evil and Mini-me?

It's based entirely on Nienaber being a willing number two. This is like Muir and Campese, but with a couple of key differences: 1.Muir used Campese to make a case for being a part of the Bok coaching team, 2.Campese was man enough to stand up to Muir. The subordinate doing the core work, and the figurehead getting the credit. Jake was Straeuli's assistant for the 2001 run to the Super rugby final. Guess who got all of the credit? Can Nienaber do anything different, seeing as his work is so much a part of the Bok model? Hard to say. Scratch the Made in Har rassmussia sticker and there's a Made in Krutchistan label. 

Haha….I like Kruchistan, sounds like something that already exists somewhere between Afghanistan and Kafiristan.

What? Replace the next Head Coach….good luck with that!