HEYNEKE MEYER: WAS HE PUSHED OR DID HE JUMP?
Simon Riekert from #Pale Toe! scratched the bloody surface of the latest casualty amongst the Springbok coaches. Here is what he found:
If you thought it was the end of the story of Heyneke Meyer’s shock announcement of his resignation, think again.
In fact, nothing related to South African rugby, especially relating to the top-job, is simple and straight forward. The job of the Springbok coach has not been dubbed “the poisoned chalice” by mistake and working for an employer who has more hidden agendas than an African dictator, has not assisted anyone with a rugby interest.
So, exit Heyneke Meyer and enter the Springbok rugby messiah, it seems.
I incidentally ran into Meyer earlier this week at a restaurant in Pretoria and I could see that the man was at pains to express his emotions. All I could get out of him was an “it’s very rough”, and that was enough for me to know that this needed a follow-up.
I phoned around to find someone who would be willing to talk to me, but again, most of them were closing in on the ranks.
Eventually I found a source I knew that would be as reliable to talk to. This guy is as solid as gold and I knew he had first-hand information.
“I can only talk to you about Heyneke, but you and I know that there are characters that had an influence on his announcement. Heyneke should have had a chance to carry on for the next four years, but the circumstances surrounding his position, has become so unbearable, it would have killed him.”
I wanted to know more about the sudden decision, the unexpected announcement that everybody was waiting for.
“You know what has happened the last four weeks with the Cape unions indicating that they will vote against Heyneke’s re-appointment last week. This and the fact that the black-white transformation issue was also high on the agenda of Saru and the Leopards union from Potchefstroom.
“If Heyneke had won the world cup with this team, Saru would have been going on their merry way, minding their own business as they normally do. Now suddenly Oregan Hoskins is in a tight spot. Jurie Roux is still in the woods about unscrupulous money matters in which he was allegedly involved and Western Province has come out joining forces with Wynand Claassen and Divan Serfontein and the crowd who asks for Meyer’s head.
“Now, suddenly Hoskins has to unscramble the mess and call for a press conference on Friday to explain Saru’s position on Heyneke’s announcement that he is not available for re-appointment.
“All I can say is that people close to him has sold him out, some even before he put his foot on the plane to England.”
Meyer is no nincompoop, and will surely rely on the conditions set out in his contract which only expires at the end of December.
As I tried to canvass this avenue from my source, he was only willing to say that Meyer might keep a copy of the contract handy as the existence of the contract and its conditions, might be featuring soon.
“Who is there in South Africa that can coach the Springboks successfully? Locally Johan Ackermann is one of the names that came forward, but he has limited international experience. Yes, Allister Coetzee, who is apparently waiting in the wings was Jake White’s understudy, but there is a hell of a difference between assistant coach work and that of the main peanut.
“Internationally coaches are reluctant to apply for the job for the simple reason Heyneke has fallen on his sword: politics. The unions know very well how to play the political game and the race card very subtly. The poor supporter that wish not to investigate and read between the lines, is bamboozled into believing that everything is under control.
“I tell you, everything is not under control and the man taking over from Heyneke is going to fold under the pressure of the demands for transformation on the one hand and on the other, the pressure to perform and become what the Springboks are capable of to become.
“It’s going to take years to beat the All Blacks, because not only do you need the skilled and talented players that we have, but you need a happy and settled team.”
After this discussion, I have no doubt in my mind that Hoskins and his board is now at pains to explain the way forward. I am also certain that Meyer’s announcement came as a hell of a surprise to his employer.
In corporate life, an employee who swims upstream like a salmon, never lasts. Even if this employee is the answer to many wants and needs of the employer, employers play a cunning political game to get rid of them. They are not liked.
Today’s announcements from Saru will be no different from what it was in the past: it will sugar coat the animosity and attempt to restore opposing unions rather than divert.
They will blah-blah about transformation that are not quotas and the wisdom to make an appropriate appointment, whatever that will mean to them now and in the future.
The Jurie Roux story, the Eastern Province Kings shambles and the paving of the way for the next lamb to slaughter at the Springbok altar, will not go away by itself.
It is, as with Heyneke Meyer a question of “was he pushed, or did he jump.”
But it is also the question of how long the next sheep can last.
Photo: Anton Geyser / Rugby 15
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