Bok coach high on new CEO's 'to-do' list
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:47
Oregan Hoskins: We will help the Bok coach. (c) Gallo
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers, and the many controversies surrounding him, will be very high on the 'to-do' list of new South African Rugby Union Chief Executive, Jurie Roux.
SARU President Oregan Hoskins admitted that the union's tarnished image, following a series of public spats with the IRB and other world bodies, along with issues surrounding the Bok coach, would fall within Roux's ambit.
Speaking to rugby365.com, after the announcement of Roux's appointment in Cape Town on Friday, Hoskins said Roux would be in charge of "everything".
That includes the underfire Bok coach, De Villiers, who is in hot water with SANZAR over his recent media outbursts.
"The new CEO doesn't have a specific delegation of duties," Hoskins said. "He is in charge of everything. There isn't an issue he will not be in charge of.
"He has to take ownership of every single issue in South African rugby and the national coach is certainly one of is duties as well," added the SARU President.
Although Hoskins declined to comment on the pending disciplinary action against the national coach, because it is "sub judice", he admitted they would afford the Bok coach all the help he needs to move forward.
Asked about SA Rugby's poor image abroad, Hoskins said there were many positives as well.
In the past 12 months SARU, and the national team, were fined a substantial amount by the IRB over their armband protest in 2009; they fell foul of Premier Rugby, who reported them to the IRB over the Butch James saga; several senior players have been banned for foul play in recent weeks and now the Bok coach is facing disciplinary action.
Hoskins admitted it is of some concern and it would be addressed by Roux. "I would think he would regard that as one of his top priorities," Hoskins told rugby365.com.
Although he felt that there were enough positives as well in the last few years, he admitted there were areas that needed to be addressed.
"We are certainly going through a bad patch with our results in the last three games, but that is something that does happen in rugby," the SARU President said, adding: "You cannot always win a game and we are hoping to turn that result around on August 21 at Soccer City [against the All Blacks]."
Asked about the many off-field issues that have had SA rugby in the headlines over the past 12 months, he admitted it was something that needed to be addressed.
"Those issues are certainly more negative, but we've had lots of positive issues as well," he said.
"We've had a lot of our top sponsorships that have been secured.
"We've had a lot of positives that have also been happening around South African rugby and we are quite happy to take the positives as well."
Asked if he was concerned that after the highs of 2009 - where South Africa had almost every international title on offer to them, including the Tri-Nations, a series win over the B&I Lions and the World Sevens title - that SA had fallen dramatically down the pecking order, he said the results of 2006 (under Jake White) were "far worse".
"However, we are certainly taking stock of the fact that we lost our last three games," Hoskins said, "we want to turn that around and start winning again."
The SARU President was also asked about the Bok coach's poor track record with the media and a number of public spats, not to mention strange utterances, that have cast a shadow over the good name of the national team.
"We are dealing with that with Peter, we are dealing with it in-house," Hoskins said, when quizzed about De Villiers's declining relationship with the media.
Asked if the recent poor results adds more pressure on the Bok coach, he replied: "It should not."
Hoskins added: "It [the recent run of defeats] is an issue we are aware of and we are dealing with it.
"We had a meeting with him yesterday [Thursday] and we are going to have a review.
"I believe that is going to be helpful to him and to our team and it is the right thing to do."
Asked if there would be any assistance for De Villiers to call upon - in terms of all the controversies surrounding the coach and the national team - Hoskins said that was also an issue they were dealing with.
"We will certainly request of him whether he needs assistance, and we will certainly offer it to him when we do our review with him."
By Jan de Koning
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