December 11 is fast approaching, the day of reckoning for current Bok coach Heyneke Meyer. That is the date that the South African Rugby Union’s (SARU) General Council will decide his fate, what looked like a done deal before the World Cup unravelling after losses to Japan and the All Blacks.

Now it has emerged that Allister Coetzee, the former Stormers and current Kobelco Steelers coach, is the frontrunner to take over from Meyer. Below from Sport24:

Local bookmakers, Sportingbet.co.za, recently suspended betting on the next Springbok coach.

Coetzee, a former Springbok assistant coach, was initially backed at 8/1 but odds on him were constantly cut to 6/1, 5/1, 3/1 and finally 9/4.

After a flurry of bets in the last 48 hours, betting has been suspended.

Coetzee currently coaches Japanese outfit, the Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers, but reportedly has an exit clause in his contract for a high-profile job.

We all know what happened shortly after English bookies suspended betting on Eddie Jones taking over their national team.

Other contenders for the position include John Mitchell and John Plumtree, although they may be duking it for the vacant Stormers spot after Jones beat a hasty retreat from the Mother City.

The screws have been tightened by sponsors, two major money spinners for SARU having backed out of the Boks. IOL with this:

…major sponsor Absa was not going to renew its sponsorship with the national team, citing the slow pace of transformation as one of the reasons.

BMW also said it would not be renewing its sponsorship, but said it was a decision that had been taken before the Rugby World Cup, which ended last month…

Meyer further damaged his cause by stalling contract renewal negotiations with the South African Rugby Union prior to the Rugby World Cup in the hope that he would return victorious and able to dictate terms…

A senior SARU source said Meyer’s contract would not be renewed and would expire at the end of the year. “It is becoming more and more difficult to see him staying on in the job.”

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

All of this above conjecture would point to one pretty much undeniable fact – there is a major dearth of proven coaching talent in this country. That’s not to knock Allister Coetzee, whose Super Rugby coaching record holds up favourably with other local coaches, but rather to say that we may one day have to face the reality of looking abroad for the right man to lead the Boks to glory.

[sources:sport24&iol]