Erasmus hasn’t been formally interviewed yet but Meyer is an admirer and he is likely to appoint him as his technical analyst shortly. Erasmus has modelled himself on Meyer, particularly from a structure building perspective. They shared ideas often when Erasmus was director of rugby at Western Province and his work ethic and sharp mind appeals to Meyer.

The role would suit Erasmus perfectly. He excels at dissecting matches, studying individuals and teams and trying to establish predictable patterns in the opposition that would give his side an edge. Furthermore he is famously media-shy and not very receptive to criticism. A behind-the-scenes role therefore is a better fit than assistant coach would be.

Who fills the remaining roles remains a mystery. Meyer’s preferred choices are all contracted, leaving him in a difficult position of having to settle for coaches who are available or convincing the South African Rugby Union to pay significant compensation fees in a bid to convince franchises to release the coaches he wants.

Meyer is desperate to lure Bulls defence coach John McFarland to the Springboks. The Englishman had been a trusted lieutenant at the Bulls. Meyer had previously tried to recruit McFarland to the Leicester Tigers when he coached the Premiership side and has always spoken highly of his aptitude.

However, any deal there is unlikely, as is one for Bulls forwards coach Johann van Graan (contracted until end 2012). The relationship between the Bulls and Saru was fractured when the governing body convinced Meyer to engage the exit clause in his contract with the Pretoria franchise. They are highly unlikely to be open to an approach for another of their senior coaches (McFarland is contracted until the end of 2013).

With Jacques Nienaber, who has forged the Stormers into a granitic defensive unit, under contract until the end of 2012, there are no available South African-based alternatives.

Meyer will not consider employing an overseas-based coach, which further limits his options. He had previously maintained that he would always seek to employ the best available coaches no matter their nationality. In 2007 he added Australian attack coach Todd Louden to his staff. Louden had an immediate and patent impact, refining and adding dimensions to the Bulls’ play. He later worked with the Waratahs before coaching in Japan and is currently employed as the director of rugby at Sydney University.

Springboks players and the South African rugby fraternity were sceptical of the Australian pair of Les Kiss and Tim Lane, employed by Harry Viljoen in 2001. I’d like to believe the players and public have matured and would embrace the right foreigner. That said, Meyer is determined to employ a locally-based coach.

Reports have suggested that Sevens coach Paul Treu is being considered as backline coach. Unless it is an appointment forced on Meyer I can’t see it being one he would support. Treu is a fine man and excellent Sevens coach, but he has no experience coaching in the 15-man code. It would be a worse appointment than the one that saw Dick Muir elevated. Muir’s fanciful philosophies were soon exposed as just that and shelved in favour of a more pragmatic approach. At the end of his tenure he was little more than a well-paid adviser. That type of error cannot be replicated.

It is unlikely that former Saracens and current SA U20 coach Brendan Venter would be receptive to any advance. He has consistently stressed that the reason he resigned from his post at the English club was to spend more time with his family and build his medical practice. Working with Meyer and Erasmus may, however, be incentive enough for him to reconsider.

Meyer is in an unenviable position and how he negotiates this challenge will be crucial to his success with the Springboks.

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Meyer inherits a Springbok team in transition after a clutch of senior players retired or sought fresh challenges abroad. He has made veiled suggestions that he wants to be able to select foreign-based players, something his predecessor Peter de Villiers was loathe to do. The South African Rugby Union (Saru) encouraged and supported that position, as did the senior players, many of whom will now, ironically, be hoping for a call from their old Bulls mentor.

Meyer accepts he will operate in a results-driven environment. He knows there is little to no allowance made for building the type of structures he did so successfully in his decade of service with the Bulls. The pressure is self-evident and the strong support he now enjoys from the South African rugby fraternity will quickly erode if results don’t meet expectations.

In the interests of self-preservation, Meyer is tempted to sound out the likes of Danie Rossouw, Bakkies Botha and Fourie du Preez, all of whom received their rugby education from him at the Bulls. Japan-based Fourie du Preez heads that list. Du Preez has previously stated that he would seriously consider returning from international retirement if Meyer was appointed. Meyer believes that the 29-year-old still has much to offer at Test level. Indeed there is the distinct possibility that he could appoint him as captain for the early part of his tenure if given permission to do so by Saru.

The implications, should this move transpire, would be serious for Francois Hougaard. Hougaard has been deployed mainly as a wing in his four years at the Bulls, his prodigious ability demanding he be accommodated. But he has always been identified and groomed as Du Preez’s successor at the Bulls. Furthermore, Du Preez had consistently endorsed Hougaard as his replacement at Test level, predicting that he would progress to become one of the world’s leading scrumhalves.

It is premature to assume that Hougaard will make an immediate impact in his first full Super Rugby season for the Bulls as a No 9. Indeed there is the possibility that he may well be a better winger than he is a scrumhalf. However, should Hougaard show the aptitude Du Preez predicts he will, the 23-year-old anointed one would face an uncertain international future thanks to the re-emergence of the man who bestowed that anointing.

At the 2011 World Cup Du Preez was a poor impostor of the player who was without peer in his position at the tournament four years earlier. A shoulder injury appeared to dilute his potency and I still believe he can contribute to the Test cause. However, his form in the mediocre Japanese league should be no measure of his capacity in that regard. Any assessment of him needs to be made with him playing in South Africa. Jaque Fourie, who also plays in Japan, must be held to the same standard if he hopes to continue his international career.

Du Preez would offer Meyer the security he seeks in his formative years as a Test coach, while further refining Hougaard or whoever emergences as a better option. I don’t see Du Preez making the 2015 World Cup, two years being the maximum period before his powers start to wane to the point where he will be a liability for the Springboks.

I don’t share the same view with Rossouw, Steenkamp, Botha or indeed Victor Matfield, who has been spoken about as a potential returnee. The second-row pair in particular are spent forces and any recall will be counter-productive. There are competent replacements for all these men and while their contributions will never be forgotten they must be.

If they aren’t, Meyer runs the risk of causing disillusionment on a mass scale among the nation’s gifted young players, all of whom would have assumed their time was now.

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It’s been two weeks since Bok head coach Heyneke Meyer’s appointment, and plans to build him a strong support staff have been ongoing ever since. According to the Rapport, Saru is now set to finalise his first recruit over the next several days, with former Stormers director of coaching Rassie Erasmus set to take on a technical advisor role – the same role he played shortly before the Springboks’ World Cup campaign. Contract negotiations are expected to happen this week.

The 39-year-old has been connected to several jobs in Europe after his resignation at WP. However, Erasmus told keo.co.za last month that he would be interested in a post in South Africa as he wants to consider his young family.

Current Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu and several Bulls management members, like defence coach John McFarland, forwards coach Johann van Graan, conditioning coach Basil Carzis, are also linked to Bok jobs.

The Bulls personnel are all committed to the Pretoria franchise under their current contracts, but it’s reported that Saru is willing to pay for them to be released as they are all on Meyer’s wishlist.

Treu has already confirmed to SA Rugby magazine that he wants to be part of the process that prepares the Blitzboks for sevens rugby’s debut at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, but keo.co.za has it on good authority that he is open to a dual job that will allow him to be released to coach 15-man rugby and to focus on the national sevens team as a consultant or senior mentor whenever possible. Treu said he has no interest in becoming a Super Rugby assistant coach, but a Bok assistant coach post with the opportunity to succeed Meyer in the long-term future will be an appealing deal.

In other management rumours, former Bok players Louis Koen and Victor Matfield are expected to be hired as kicking and lineout consultants respectively.

The reality of the situation may be difficult to accept, but after six seasons of international rugby, Frans Steyn remains a rough diamond; a study in untapped sporting potential. Despite erudite assurances post the 2007 World Cup that he would become South Africa’s game-changer, the once great prospect has stagnated in some respects, and regressed in others.

Part of the blame lies with the player himself, as it was his decision to spend three years with a mediocre French club, but South African rugby is just as culpable for failing to manage him correctly over the past four years. One would hope that the new Springbok coach adopts a smarter approach in the four that follow. What will help the situation is that Steyn recently declared his intention to sign with a South African union after the expiration of his contract at Racing Metro. It will be a significant homecoming.

While something has been missing from his game over the past four years, a good deal of emotional intelligence has been gained. As Steyn will tell you, the three years in Paris have proved invaluable to his development, perhaps not as a rugby player, but as an overall individual.

Leaving South Africa in 2009 was something he needed to do. He wanted to experience a new culture, but he also wanted to escape the claustrophobic, rugby-obsessed environment where he was cast in alternating roles of hero and villain almost every week. It was a lot to endure for a boy in his early twenties, and while he appeared supremely confident on the surface he was really just as susceptible as any other player to the pressures of public expectation and criticism.

Steyn maintains that he went to France on a journey of discovery, and now that he is returning with that life experience in the bank, he may finally be ready to take his rightful place as one of South Africa’s greats. Whether he will be greeted by a rugby fraternity that feels the same way is another story.

Many rugby legends have been trialled in multiple positions during the initial stages of their careers, but have subsequently settled in one specialist role. Stephen Larkham began as a fullback before Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen shifted him to flyhalf. Christian Cullen could play centre, wing or fullback, but was at his best when he wore the No 15 jersey for the All Blacks. Percy Montgomery played every backline position bar scrumhalf before eventually focusing on fullback, and it’s as one of South Africa’s most influential 15s that he will long be remembered.

Unfortunately, more than five years have passed since Steyn’s Test debut and he still finds himself cursed with the jack of all trades label. His record will show that he has played flyhalf, wing, centre and fullback for his country as well as the Sharks, and three different positions for Racing. While his individual feats have often meant the difference in big Tests, he has rarely been viewed as a first-choice player. His coaches have always been quick to acknowledge his freakish, game-swinging ability, but simultaneously reluctant to declare him the best player in his position.

In 2006, Steyn shone like a beacon of light in an otherwise dark South African landscape. Jake White backed the then 19-year-old, and while the experimental side lost two of their three matches, Steyn emerged as the find of that tour to Ireland and England.

In 2007, he showcased his match-winning threat by coming off the bench and nailing two drop goals (the first from an outrageously unfavourable angle and distance) to help the Boks beat the Wallabies. When Jean de Villiers tore his bicep in the Boks’ opening World Cup match, White replaced the veteran with the precocious talent. The move proved inspired as Steyn enjoyed a fantastic tournament, not only as a hard-running and tackling No 12 but also as a long-range goal-kicking alternative to Montgomery. It was in the 2007 World Cup final that he also redeemed himself for a costly miss in the preceding Super 14 final, slotting a penalty that put the game beyond England’s reach.

Steyn played flyhalf, wing, centre and fullback under White and was never considered first choice when all the backline options were fit. But to say Steyn was mismanaged by White would be unfair, as at that stage of his career he was competing against vastly experienced players still in their prime. That he tasted success when deployed as an impact player, and later as a replacement for De Villiers at the 2007 World Cup, should not have created such expectation, as by the end of that season his rocket was only getting ready to launch.

It was in 2008 that he should have been developed as a specialist, but confusion reigned at franchise and Test level as the respective coaches continued to shift him around the backline. He played four different positions for the Sharks in the 2008 Super 14 and started just two Tests for South Africa (one at flyhalf and one at outside centre).

His biggest contribution in 2008 was as a substitute in that historic victory in Dunedin. Everybody lauded Ricky Januarie for the gamebreaking moment that ended South Africa’s decade-long drought in New Zealand, while Steyn’s match-clinching conversion went largely unacknowledged. He was limited to bit-part roles on the 2008 end-of-year tour, and it took a serious injury to a first-choice player, this time Conrad Jantjes who broke his leg in the 2009 Super 14, for Steyn to gain promotion for the monumental series against the British & Irish Lions. Ironically, it would be Steyn’s line-kicking game from the fullback position that would go a long way towards securing victory in the first two matches.

In De Villiers’ eyes, however, Steyn hadn’t done enough to command a  starting place. In the away leg of the subsequent Tri-Nations, De Villiers opted for Ruan Pienaar in Brisbane and Perth before Pienaar himself begged the Bok management to reconsider Steyn as the premier fullback option. Steyn starred in that decisive fixture in Hamilton with some neat touches in general play and of course, a long-range goal-kicking display that was becoming trademark.

That performance served as a final fling before an unplanned hiatus, as Steyn would not feature again in a full-strength Bok side until the back end of the 2010 Tri-Nations. His commitment to Racing saw his already fractious relationship with De Villiers deteriorate to the point where there was no communication at all, and he was omitted from the touring squad to Europe. In June 2010 new reports emerged that the Bok coach and Steyn were again at loggerheads with the latter portrayed in some publications as a spoilt brat who didn’t value the Bok jersey. Steyn eventually played for a mix-and-match team in Cardiff and turned in a performance that, while underwhelming, was consistent with that of his team-mates. De Villiers nevertheless singled him out as ‘off the pace’ and lamented how just one season in Europe had had a negative impact on his game.

Steyn and De Villiers finally patched things up ahead of the home leg of the 2010 Tri-Nations and he was selected at fullback for the two Tests against Australia. He was shifted to centre, however, for the end-of-year tour to the four home nations, and another season ended with Steyn having played in multiple positions for no other reason than the first-choice option was injured.

He arrived back in South Africa in May 2011 to prepare for the World Cup in New Zealand, and the selectors assured him that he would travel to the tournament as the first-choice fullback. It was in a solid outing against Wales that he began to show signs of settling, but when Jean de Villiers was ruled out with a rib injury Steyn was again asked to switch to centre.

The international press was taken by his subsequent displays against lowly Fiji and Namibia, as well as his robust performance in an ill-tempered bout with Samoa, and his cannon of a goal-kicking boot was hailed as much a psychological weapon as anything else. Defending sides were already less inclined to push the breakdown boundaries in their own half for fear of conceding penalties in tight World Cup matches. With Steyn capable of slotting three-pointers from 60m out, it meant that opposition teams would need to be even more disciplined than ever.

It was for this reason that his own tournament-ending injury was described as a body blow to the Boks. A less emotional assessment would reveal that of his three starts at No 12, two were against the weaker defending sides in the competition. The best players are measured against quality opposition, and since Steyn didn’t start against Wales or Australia in that midfield position, it would be a stretch to claim that he had an outstanding tournament or made any big statements at inside centre.

That’s not to say he can’t be a success at No 12 in the years to come, and in this respect big decisions will need to be made in the next few months. In Steyn and Pat Lambie South Africa have two young players who need to be specialising rather than filling in as needed. These potential gamebreakers need to be installed as starters early in the international season and allowed time to settle and grow as senior members of a new and hopefully more ambitious Bok backline.

While it would be foolish to dispense with the 30-year-old Jean de Villiers completely, it may be time to instate Steyn as the first-choice No 12. The other option is to move Steyn back to fullback in order to exploit his prodigious line-kicking game, but then a finite decision must be made to back Lambie as a flyhalf rather than a 15. There are of course other pieces to the backline puzzle to consider, such as Gio Aplon whose attacking abilities are amplified from the fullback position. There needs to be a plan to incorporate all these ingredients into one cocktail, the potency of which will become stronger over time.

As far as Steyn is concerned, it doesn’t matter who he signs for in South Africa, only that he is backed in a position where he will also play for the Boks. Back from a journey of discovery and hungry for an extended run, he’ll be in the perfect space to assume the responsibility most felt he was ready for in 2008.

– This article appears in the February issue of Business Day Sport Monthly, which is on sale now at selected retailers.

As director of rugby at the Bulls, Meyer successfully implemented this approach, with all their junior provincial and Vodacom Cup teams adopting the same basic defensive and attacking structures.

In interviews with this website prior to his appointment, Meyer had consistently suggested that this was the route the national coach should venture down. However, he faces an enormous challenge in selling that idea to franchise coaches.

‘In future I would like to install a national style of play and defence and all the attributes that go with it, and everybody should buy in,’ Meyer said.

‘I am realistic and know you can’t force people to play the same, but there should at least be a common goal and places where you can touch base.’

Meyer will place high emphasis on maintaining an open line of communication with franchise coaches on prospective Springboks players. This is something his predecessors struggled to do.

‘I would have loved to have started with an extensive planning session where we could put in a national strategy with the way we want to play, but at this stage it is a little bit late,’ he said.

‘My main aim is to set a great working relationship with them because they see the players much more than I do, and that is why I want to go around and spend time and see what they are doing at the franchises.’

Meyer addressed what has become a contentious issue of selecting foreign-based players, saying: ‘I also want to see if it’s possible for me to go overseas and speak to the players there. I’ve spoken to a lot of agents to see who’s available and who’s not available, but we have some quality players overseas.’

Meyer’s predecessor Peter de Villiers claimed that players based in the northern hemisphere lacked the conditioning for Test rugby, but Meyer expanded on that explaining: ‘The Heineken Cup is a very tough competition and a lot of the players are conditioned very well, but they peak at different times and I have a few ideas I need to discuss with them and the clubs, again to see if we can come to a win/win situation.’

Heyneke Meyer will travel to each of the five Super Rugby franchises in the coming weeks to discuss the management of Bok players in what should be the most gruelling Super Rugby competition yet. Without a buy-in from the five franchises, Meyer’s Boks are going to be fatigued and broken by June, which is when South Africa will host England for a three-Test series.

Unless there is also some sort of agreement that allows Meyer to work with these players before the franchises are obligated to release them from Super Rugby duty, the Boks will go into that series tactically under-prepared and severely underdone as a combination.

Last Friday, Meyer said he was realistic about the challenges facing the Boks in 2012, and suggested that good preparation and planning would be needed to circumvent the problems of an over-saturated Super Rugby schedule. But given that there is officially just a week allotted for preparation ahead of that three-Test series, it’s a stretch to believe that good planning will compensate for quality time spent on the training paddock as a collective. And as Meyer himself has confirmed, this can’t be done in the week leading up to the first Test, it has to be done at an earlier stage.

New Zealand rugby leads the way in many respects, and through the Crusaders it has shown its willingness to put the national team first. The Crusaders will release their Test players two weeks before the All Blacks play Ireland in a three-Test series, which should allow new coach Steve Hansen a decent opportunity to prepare his charges.

Perhaps the better South African franchises would do well to follow suit because ultimately it is the Bok team that should be considered the greatest priority. Being South Africa, though, things are not so clear-cut as that.

There’s political wrangling and mudslinging both behind closed doors and on the pages of national newspapers. There are problems away from the rugby field that can influence rugby decisions. One need only look at the financial issues at the Lions or Rassie Erasmus’s recent resignation because of political pressures for examples. Then, of course, there is the pressure to perform.

Can John Mitchell afford to rest his best players when he is trying to revive the Lions as a Super Rugby entity? Can Allister Coetzee bow to the Bok coach’s demands when there is ever-growing pressure from public and internal sectors to bring the Stormers silverware? It is an extremely difficult situation.

For all of his own technical flaws, Peter de Villiers wasn’t helped by Super Rugby coaches during his tenure. There were instances of Boks being played into the ground before they arrived for Test duty mid-year, while the fact that conditioning requirements of a Super Rugby team often differ from that of the national team also contributed to problems in the Test set-up.

Former Bok conditioning coach Derik Coetzee often commented on the pressures and challenges for the Bok management team, saying that until there is a universal system the national side would never reach their conditioning potential in a Test context. Without an allotted time to prepare specifically for Test rugby, the Boks would be at a disadvantage.

It’s more important that Meyer be granted extra preparatory time than the Bok coach of recent years, as the Boks have recently lost a core of senior players to retirement. It’s hard to see Meyer and the five Super Rugby coaches reaching a complete win-win agreement, but some consensus needs to be achieved because if things continue as is, the national team will continue to suffer.

With franchises struggling to meet their own targets with regards to transformation, and under pressure from their respective boards to win trophies and qualify for home play-offs that earn significant financial rewards, it seems unlikely that they will be too sensitive to the new Bok coach’s needs. It’s a real problem for South African rugby and here is just another area where Saru would do well to follow New Zealand.

Central contracting would solve the problem, as the top players would become assets of Saru rather than property of franchises that have their own commercial interests to safeguard. Until that happens, the Bok coach will continue to be on the back foot before the Test season has even begun.

Speaking on therugbysite.com, the former All Blacks coach described England as the ‘world champions of wasting talent’ and said that unless they change their outdated approach they will continue to struggle against southern hemisphere opposition. Henry’s harsh words come just a week before the Six Nations and four months before England travel to South Africa for a three-Test series.

‘England has top-drawer attacking players [but] they are seldom used,’ Henry said. ‘At national level and at club level English teams are far too worried about securing possession. They are obsessed with sealing off the ball carrier. They are paranoid that an opponent might steal the ball and so everyone jams on the brakes and seals off possession.

‘It is fearful and often illegal. OK, so the opposition can’t get at the ball, but there is no dynamic forward momentum and nobody is being shifted out of the defensive line. No wonder England had trouble scoring tries against the better teams at the World Cup.’

Interim coach Stuart Lancaster has promised to install a new culture following the embarrassing English antics at last year’s global tournament in New Zealand. As far as Henry is concerned, there also needs to be a shift in mindset, and it has to start with this week’s clash with Scotland.

‘England has a backline to get excited about but they will never fulfil their potential unless the team can win quick ball. This needs a total change of policy for the Six Nations. England must go to Murrayfield and stick it to the opposition. They have to smash the Scottish forwards past the ball instead of conservatively stopping at the tackled player in order to secure possession.

‘A country with over a million players should be the best team in the world and England’s potential in the backs is as good as it has ever been. Ben Foden’s a good player, Chris Ashton is a handful and Delon Armitage has always impressed me. But how frustrated those players must get in a white shirt. England and the English clubs play a game based on fear and a generation of promising backs are dying on their feet. That has to change.’

Four years after Meyer fell victim to political engineering that installed the inferior Peter de Villiers ahead of him, the 44-year-old strode through the doors of the Sports Science Centre in Cape Town with a tense expression. Privately he is undoubtedly apprehensive about what lies ahead.

There are few more unforgiving jobs in professional sports than that of Springboks coach. But for now his enthusiasm, optimism and unrelenting work ethic has yet to be dulled.

Meyer’s task, a four-year gig that will take him through to the World Cup in England in 2015, begins in arduous fashion. He’ll have roughly a week to prepare his Springboks for a three-Test series against England in June – a vicious introduction to Test coaching if ever there was one. And this without any certainty about who his assistants will be, with his preferences tied up in contracts.

Meyer, vehemently opposed to mediocrity, will pay no mind the fact that the bar was set decidedly low by his predecessor. A Tri-Nations title and series victory against the Lions plasters over three last placed finishes in the southern hemisphere showpiece and a quarter-final exit at the 2011 World Cup. Meyer has consistently said that the Springboks need to be held to a higher standard than they were made to, particularly on home soil. Now he will experience first hand the challenges associated with achieving that goal.

‘The World Cup is important but I believe you can’t build at Springbok level in the way you can in Super Rugby. My goal is to win every single game,’ Meyer said, in contrast to his predecessors, who’ve had an intense focus on winning the World Cup.

‘I’m not being arrogant and I respect other nations, many of whom have continuity [in their playing and coaching staff]. Every single game will be very important. So the World Cup will be the cherry on the top, but you want to be number one in the world for a long time. If you put the right structures in place, the right game plan, get the ethos of the team where you want it and get the type of players that will die for their country, then the World Cup will take care of itself.’

Saru CEO Jurie Roux explained that they had head-hunted Meyer and that he was their preferred candidate. He lamented a fallout with Bulls after Meyer indicated that he would like to take up the position of Springboks coach (he was their director of rugby) but maintained that Meyer had effected the exit clause in his contract.

Meyer thanked ‘the Bulls family’ and spoke fondly of his time at the union. On the Springboks job he spoke with visible emotion.

‘It is humbling to be named as coach. It’s an honour. I realise its a huge responsibility to represent the whole of the nation. But I’m ready and looking forward to the challenge. I realise that winning is the most important thing. But I also intend to make a difference to the lives of the people of our country. I hope I achieve that.

‘I want to be a Springbok coach of the people. And I want to make the Springboks accessible to all people. I want all our supporters to be proud of the team, and what the jersey stands for. My wish is that all South Africans will join hands in the bid to make this the best team in the world.’

By Ryan Vrede

Meyer’s early Bulls sides gained a reputation for being one-dimensional, too reliant on hulking forwards and a kicking flyhalf. They rarely wowed and were rendered impotent if matched physically.

He evolved as a coach thereafter, adding subtle dimensions to their play. The recruitment of Australian attack coach Todd Louden in 2007 refined their ball-in-hand play to the point where only the Crusaders were superior in this regard. The Bulls’ Super Rugby championship-winning sides of 2009 and 2010 continued to lean on Meyer’s teachings well after he had left in late 2007. Certainly Meyer’s Springboks will exhibit more pragmatism than panache, but to box him as a conservative is flawed.

In 2008, Meyer’s predecessor Peter de Villiers made sweeping statements about the expansive style he would play. The Springboks were duly beaten in the four of six Tri-Nations Tests. De Villiers, recognising that he was technically out of his depth, ceded tactical decision making to his senior players, who implemented an approach that revolved around an accurate kick and solid chase.

Asked about his proposed style of play, Meyer said: ‘I believe there are two types of rugby – winning rugby and losing rugby. I prefer the first. The way we play will differ from week to week. I won’t have a fixed playing pattern. I’ll look at our strengths and the weaknesses of the opponents and formulate a game plan accordingly. There will be criticism at times [for perceived conservatism] but winning is what is most important.’

The players who were central to the Springboks’ success in 2009 – most notably scrumhalf Fourie du Preez – have either retired or sought fresh challenges abroad. There are also others plying their trade overseas who could add great value to a Springboks side. The issue of picking foreign-based players became a contentious one under De Villiers’ watch, but Meyer gave the impression that he was open to the idea.

‘I haven’t discussed it with the board, but I’ll do anything in my power to pick the best team,’ he said.

Meyer, however, stressed that there is an abundance of talent at his disposal in South Africa. ‘There’s still a lot of unbelievable talent available. I’ve also been actively involved in recruiting young talent. I’ve been to every school and provincial tournament for many years now. I know every player coming through the system. We have a wealth of talent,’ he said.

‘We have to put the right structures in place to nurture that talent. If you get that process right, within a few years we can be the strongest nation in the world. Without being arrogant, that’s where we belong.’

An extended Super Rugby season means Meyer will effectively have a week to prepare the Springboks for the first of three Tests against England in June. It is self evident that this will compromise their chances, and Meyer stressed that they would have to be innovative to circumvent that challenge.

‘Obviously it isn’t the ideal situation. Every franchise needs to work together. We can’t start coaching on the field a week before the England series. It has to start well before then, four or five months before,’ he said.

‘I’ve been a Super Rugby coach so I know their frustrations and challenges. But I’m confident we can have a healthy working relationship.’

By Ryan Vrede

Several members of the Boks’ leadership core retired from international rugby following South Africa’s exit from the 2011 World Cup. John Smit, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Danie Rossouw have all moved on, and so a new Bok team under Meyer will require new leadership.

Of the remaining senior team members, Schalk Burger was touted as the strongest candidate to succeed Smit on a long-term basis. When Meyer was announced as the new Bok coach on Friday, however, he confirmed that there will be a due selection process and that every leader in this country will be assessed.

Four months remain between now and the Boks’ first Test against England, but Meyer believes that the Boks’ strongest leader will reveal himself in the near future. He added that he is looking for a captain of a particular stature, a man that will stay true to the values that Meyer himself holds dear.

‘I want to pick the best possible Bok team and I want the country to be proud of that team,’ Meyer explained. ‘So to name a captain now would probably be too early.

‘I want to give everybody out there a fair chance, I want to get to know the players. For me it’s about character, that’s what a captain has to have. I probably won’t appoint a captain for the long term, I want to see what the players can offer first. Once I know the players I can make a final decision.’

Burger will captain the Stormers for the third-straight season in the coming Super Rugby tournament. The Cape team may not have won any trophies in recent times, but Burger has been at the forefront of some relatively successful campaigns. As a player, he also embodies the type of character and never-say-die attitude that Meyer covets.

Outside of Burger, there are other franchise leaders that stand out. Juan Smith has been a terrific servant for the Boks and while he is a leader that prefers to let his actions do the talking, he certainly fits the job description. Bismarck du Plessis is another impressive physical and mental specimen, and he was unlucky not to start at the 2011 World Cup.

Meyer was adamant that a previous provincial allegiance to the Bulls would not influence his decision to appoint the next Bok captain. He maintains that he will select the next Bok leader based on what will benefit the collective.

When he was with the Bulls, Meyer always gave players from other franchises their due. In a previous interview he admitted that Luke Watson was a player that possessed good leadership qualities, and when fronted with a reminder about Watson on Friday, Meyer reiterated that everybody in the country would be evaluated on the basis of their strengths rather than their provincial ties or current involvement in lower-tier competitions.

While it didn’t confirm that Meyer was considering Watson as a front-runner for the position, it showed that the new coach will explore every option and keep an open mind.

‘Every player out there has the same opportunity,’ he said. ‘Ultimately I have to do what’s best for the team.

‘I’m also going to travel around the country and speak to the players and from there I will make my final decision. It’s up to the players out there to prove themselves.’

By Jon Cardinelli

With Meyer officially announced as head coach on Friday, Saru has turned its attention to other pressing appointments. The names of Meyer’s backroom team have been speculated about at length, and Roux said that Saru is working towards finalising these positions in the near future.

‘We have made no decisions on that,’ said Roux. ‘First and foremost our task was to appoint a head coach and get the general council’s approval of that appointment. Subsequent to this we will start to sit down and look at the support staff and have that approved.

‘We have to do that soon, we can’t wait a month because that is too long. We will be in a lot of meetings and a lot of deliberations in the next two weeks, it’s important that we get the right people into those positions.’

Meyer is likely to bring some of the coaches that worked with him at the Bulls through to the Bok set-up. Pieter Rossouw has been mentioned as a possible backline coach, while John McFarland (kicking coach) and Bazil Carzis (fitness coach) could also be elevated.

Candidates from other provinces include Stormers defence coach Jacques Nienaber. The problem with all of these candidates is that they are tied to contracts with their respective unions.

The only prospective coach who is a free agent is Rassie Erasmus, who recently quit as director of rugby at Western Province. If Erasmus was to work with the Boks it would be as technical adviser, a role he occupied last year at the World Cup.

Roux confirmed that Saru will discuss the release of any candidates with their respective franchises in the coming fortnight.

‘If one of those individuals are at a union, we will have to engage with the union first before we engage with the individual,’ he said. ‘We have to ensure we do this process in a proper way. Hopefully we can get that sorted within the next couple of weeks.’

Meyer stressed the importance of obtaining outstanding personnel. He has confidence in his own ability to take the Boks forward but is determined to surround himself with technically astute and experienced exponents of the game. More than once he highlighted the strength of the collective as superior to that of the individual.

‘It’s very important for me that I have only the best people involved in my management team, because I truly believe that all the other nations out there have got unbelievable coaching units and so it’s going to be a huge challenge,’ said Meyer.

‘Obviously I’d like to start tomorrow with the coaching staff in place, but I’m realistic. The coaches are in contracts – if they weren’t in contracts they wouldn’t be good enough. I want to start afresh but I know there is still a lot of negotiations that need to be held.’

It may present a problem for teams like the Bulls and the Stormers. The Bulls have just lost their director of rugby to the Boks while the Stormers are also without Erasmus. These franchises may be reluctant to release any more coaches for fear of decreasing their chances of performing in the coming Super Rugby competition.

Meyer addressed this issue by saying everybody in South Africa should be working together to ensure the Bok side is as strong as possible.

‘I just hope that the rest of South Africa would know that the Springboks is the most important team, and we can help each other to be in a win-win situation,’ he said.

By Jon Cardinelli.

Meyer’s professional career began as an assistant coach of the SWD Eagles in 1997. Such was the impression he made that he was promoted to head coach the following season and within two years proceeded to lead the minnows to a Currie Cup semi-final.

In 1999 Springbok coach Nick Mallett, impressed by Meyer’s work as forwards coach of the Stormers, included him on his coaching staff for the Rugby World Cup, a promotion Meyer has reflected on as ‘premature’.

In 2000 he was in the hot seat at the Bulls. He managed just one victory in 11 matches and was subsequently demoted. He won the Vodacom Cup in 2001 with a side that included young players he had identified such as Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha He would later assist Harry Viljoen with the Springboks.

A return to Super Rugby followed in 2002, but Meyer oversaw a winless season. He did, however, win the Currie Cup against the odds later that year. Despite this, Meyer was again demoted. The Bulls just missed out on the Super Rugby semi-final in 2003, but added to their Currie Cup haul and Meyer would lead the Blue Bulls to the domestic title in 2004 and 2006 (shared).

Two Super Rugby semi-finals in 2005 and 2006 preceded their dramatic victory of the Sharks in the 2007 final. A fallout with the Bulls’ board saw him resign and take up a marketing position with a popular sports supplement company. Meyer returned to coaching in 2008 with Premiership side Leicester Tigers but returned to South Africa in 2009, citing a family crises.

Meyer also declined an offer to coach French side Toulon in 2008 and was a strong candidate for the role of forwards coach with Ireland the same season. Before being appointed Springboks coach Meyer was in the process of rebuilding the structures at the Bulls.

While Meyer is recognised as one of the best tactical minds in the game, he is also an excellent motivator. He does psychological profiles on all his players in a bid to understand how to extract the best out of them.

The finest example of this skill was seen during the 2007 season. Needing to beat the Reds by 75 points to secure a home semi-final, Meyer set about mentally conditioning each player of his squad to believe the feat was possible. They won 92-3 and the rest is history.

Personal

Date of birth: 6 October 1967
Age: 44
Place of birth: Nelspruit
Education: Bergvlam HS (Nelspruit), University of Pretoria
Degrees obtained: BA (Psychology, Geography and Human Movement Science), Hons BA (Geography), HED
Family: Married to Linda, three children

Coaching career

• 1988-1996: Coached a number of High School first teams, Under-21 sides and Carlton first teams in Pretoria.
• 1997: SWD Eagles assistant coach
• 1998: SWD Eagles head coach (Vodacom Cup semi-finalists and Absa Currie Cup)
• 1998: Emerging Springboks head coach
• 1999: Stormers assistant coach (semi-finalists in Super 12)
• 1999: SWD Eagles head coach (semi-finalists in Currie Cup)
• 1999: Springbok assistant coach (third place, Rugby World Cup)
• 2000: Bulls head coach (Super 12)
• 2001: Blue Bulls head coach (Vodacom Cup champions)
• 2001: Springbok assistant coach
• 2002: Bulls head coach (Super 12), Vodacom Blue Bulls head coach (Currie Cup champions)
• 2003: Blue Bulls head coach (Currie Cup champions)
• 2004: Blue Bulls head coach (Currie Cup champions)
• 2005: Bulls head coach (Super 12 semi-finalists), Blue Bulls head coach (Currie Cup runners up)
• 2006: Bulls head coach (Super 14 semi-finalists), Blue Bulls head coach (Currie Cup joint champions)
• 2007: Bulls head coach (Super 14 champions)
• 2008-2009: Leicester Tigers head coach
• 2011: Tuks Varsity Cup – Advisor
• 2011: Blue Bulls Company – Director of Rugby
• 2012: Springbok head coach

At the Springbok coach announcement in Newlands on Friday, the panel made to field numerous questions relating to transformation. ‘Do you think we are taking a step back in terms of transformation?’ and ‘What do black coaches need to do to be good enough?’ were some of the questions put forward. One journalist even veered on a radically hypothetical angle, asking: ‘When will another black coach be appointed again?’

However, both Saru president Oregan Hoskins and CEO Jurie Roux stressed that transformation has been taken into account during the coach appointment process.

‘I think the ideal principle would be transforming people’s minds before we transform anything else,’ said Roux, suggesting that the best rugby decisions will help the growth and development of transformation. ‘The manner in the way we decided on the new coach was quite simple. We wanted the best coach for the team. We also want a winning team, which will result in a successful and growing sporting environment. Once we have that, we can promote and grow interest in sport.’

Hoskins weighed in on the issue: ‘I’ve spoken to Heyneke in the past and recently about transformation, and he understands the dynamics of the South Africa society. He is a loyal and faithful South African.’

Meyer was cagy on the issue, but said: ‘My aim is to unite everybody and get everybody’s support behind the team. Then I want to make the decisions that are in the best interests of the team.’

By Gareth Duncan

At the outset let me state I am thrilled Meyer is the man.

The appointment of the new Bok coach should evoke a collective sense of excitement among South African supporters. In Meyer the Boks finally have a coach with the technical know-how to amplify their strengths. More importantly, they have a coach capable of developing a previously neglected aspect of the Bok game.

Those who were against this appointment argued that Meyer was too conservative in his thinking, and that the Boks needed somebody more ambitious if they were to ever challenge the trendsetting All Blacks. Where this argument falls flat, however, is where it assumes that Meyer’s past teams were one-dimensional or that the man himself is opposed to moving outside of the laager and exploring unconventional ploys and options.

On the contrary, Meyer remains one of the most technically astute and open-minded coaches on the planet. He appointed Australian Todd Louden as his backline coach in 2007 and the move proved inspired as the Bulls emerged as the second-best try-scoring side in the Super 14 league stage.

Outside of his almost un-South African willingness to employ innovative people from abroad, he has travelled extensively to study other codes and exchange information with other respected coaches. If there was anything to be gained by exploring the trends in European rugby or visiting Aussie Rules and American Grid Iron teams, Meyer has gleaned an appreciable amount to be used to better his beloved Bulls.

The Bulls have adapted in each campaign, tailoring their game to suit the laws in place. It’s an attitude that must be replicated at national level, and Meyer more than anybody won’t be swept up by the emotional call for complete change. An improvement to the Boks’ attack is necessary, but that does not mean the Boks should dispense with their traditional forward and defensive strengths.

The All Blacks are a stellar example of a team with a complete approach. They are one of the few teams that can match South Africa physically but they have an appreciation for territory that is rooted in the laws of the game. Even at Super Rugby level, the best sides, read the Reds and Crusaders, are loath to play too much attacking rugby in their own half. They follow the strategy of playing for field position before unleashing their attack.

The Boks beefed up their defence in 2011 while their forward play was vastly improved. They had two great tactical kickers in Morne Steyn and Fourie du Preez who were capable of winning them field position, but lacked the attacking personnel capable of translating territory into points. This is the problem Meyer needs to address in his efforts to shape the Boks of 2012 into a complete side that can challenge and beat the All Blacks consistently.

Peter de Villiers had grand attacking ambitions for the Boks in 2008, but his technical ignorance let him down. Instead of building on the base provided by Jake White, who installed solid defensive systems and forward-oriented strategic templates, De Villiers punted a plan that advocated all-out attack.

The Boks endured a hammering as a result, finishing last in the 2008 Tri-Nations. It was only when De Villiers’ job was on the line later that year that he reverted to White’s way, a game plan that he stuck with right through to the 2011 World Cup. As a result, the once ambitious De Villiers finished his tenure having taken the Boks back instead forward.

Meyer will use what has worked in the past and blend it with his own ideas of what will benefit the Boks in future. Rather than play a more attacking brand the Boks would do better to strive for a more balanced approach. Meyer’s past teams have enjoyed such balance, and although the task is much more difficult at Test level and the game-ever changing, there should be confidence in his ability to restore some equilibrium to the Bok force.

John Smit and Victor Matfield rode the rugby gravy train in 2011 because of the incompetence of then Bok coach Peter de Villiers, who lacked leadership and the tactical acumen to manage and coach a team at the highest level. He relied too heavily on senior players past their prime and justified their continued selection based on experience, but their form in 2010 and 2011 was never good enough.

Heyneke Meyer, to be named Bok coach on Friday, does not suffer in the areas that so handicapped De Villiers.

Meyer’s focus will be to select the best available squad to play England.

And from that squad will come the captain.

No player should make the starting XV based on his ability to lead a side. South Africa is blessed with enough playing talent and enough leaders not to have to repeat the embarrassing situation of the 2011 World Cup when the captain was not good enough to make the run-on XV.

Whoever captains the Boks should not have his pedigree questioned. There are options and they include Stormers flank Schalk Burger, Sharks hooker Bismarck du Plessis and Cheetahs flank Juan Smith. Andries Bekker and Jean de Villiers are also very good leaders. Luke Watson, once the Kings play in the 2013 Super Rugby competition, is also a contender.

Bulls No 8 Pierre Spies is an unknown as a captain and the Lions and Sharks captaincy duo of Josh Strauss and Keegan Daniel are not good enough to make the Boks’ starting XV.

There can be no excuse that there is a lack of leadership among players in South African rugby. The notion that someone like Victor Matfield has to come out of retirement for Meyer’s first season in charge to remedy the lack of playing leadership has to be rejected. It is a load of bull.

Matfield would no longer be good enough to command a starting place. His best days were between 2007 and 2009 when he had no comparison as a lineout specialist and an international lock, but his form in 2010 and 2011 was sub-standard and those thinking he performed well at the 2011 World Cup need to revisit his performances in the 2007 World Cup.

Matfield’s legacy is that he dominated the international game for five years. He is no longer that force. That he should even contemplate a return based on Meyer’s appointment is ridiculous. It smacks of arrogance. Matfield’s role, if any, should be as a lineout consultant and he can double up as a SuperSport analyst. His rugby knowledge is without dispute. His retirement should also not be disputed. There is a time to go in international sport – and Matfield’s was 24 months ago.

Burger has to be the favourite to captain the side, but it should also not be a given that the Bok captain has to be the captain of his provincial or regional team. Zinzan Brooke, as one example, captained the Blues and Sean Fitzaptrick, also in the Blues team, the All Blacks.

Leadership is a shared responsibility in Test rugby and any team whose coach relies so heavily on one player to be the captain is already vulnerable.

Smit’s leadership was always presented as the reason for his selection at the 2011 World Cup but in the final 20 minutes against Wales, when the Boks trailed, he was substituted. Ditto the quarter-final against Australia.

The best players have to make the starting XV. From that comes the captain.

South Africans need to learn from the history of the 2011 World Cup and demand the best start. The captain has to be secondary to the team. There can’t be any guarantees to any player, including whoever captains the side. Too much is made of who captains the side.

Meyer, whose skill has always been to build a team, has so much talent at his disposal that his eyes have to be on the now and not the past. Matfield, as a player, is very much the past. Matfield, in another guise, can be the future.

The same applies to Fourie du Preez and any other Bulls legend who feels he may be doing Meyer a favour by coming out of retirement. Who next, Frik du Preez?

This was the 30-year-old’s fourth operation since picking up the injury during last year’s Super Rugby tournament. The Springbok flanker, who was then forced to miss the World Cup, is now back on crutches and will now miss the Cheetahs’ away leg of the upcoming Super Rugby campaign as he’s back on crutches. The Bloemfontein franchise will face the Brumbies (10 March), Rebels (18 March), Crusaders (24 March) and Hurricanes (31 March) on the road Down Under.

The recent operation came after Smith visited a specialist in Pretoria. He still felt pain during a jog and after a scan was taken, it was decided that surgery was needed to improve the recovery process.

‘Juan recovered well from the main operation that he had on both tendons last year and looked pretty good even before the World Cup,’ Cheetahs managing director Harold Verster told keo.co.za. ‘But there were complications that came up. While the right leg recovered 100%, there were problems with Juan’s left heel. Surgery had to be performed recently to help with his full recovery. It’s not serious, though, and he’ll be back on his feet in about three weeks time.’

Verster added that the Cheetahs boast depth in the loose forward department and will cope during Smith’s absence. Philip van der Walt and Davon Raubenheimer are set to compete for the No 7 jersey.

By Gareth Duncan

The Bulls on Wednesday released a statement confirming reports that Meyer, who last year signed a four-year contract as director of rugby at the franchise, has been approached by the South African Rugby Union (Saru) to coach the Springboks.

While Meyer is under contract, keo.co.za has learned from an impeccable source that he has an exit clause that would allow him to depart with just two weeks notice. Meyer has yet to formally accept the position of Springboks coach, but, with his relationship with the Bulls’ board having deteriorated dramatically in the last week following their accusations of a lack of integrity, Meyer is expected to sign on as national coach in the next two days.

This website also understands that Meyer rebuffed Saru’s initial approach, saying that he was settled at the franchise. Thereafter the governing body pressed once more for the services of the 44-year-old, upon which time he informed the Bulls of the approach, as well as his interest in the role. He subsequently kept an open line of communication with the franchise regarding Saru’s advances.

The Bulls’ strongly-worded statement stressed that they are vehemently opposed to losing Meyer. They wrote: ‘It is the Blue Bulls Board’s position that it would not be in the Blue Bulls interest to release Meyer after many resources and commitments have been made in order to enable Meyer to fulfill his mandate. Meyer is under contract with the Blue Bulls Company and had appointed Meyer as Executive Rugby, only after an undertaking and commitment by Meyer to lead Blue Bulls rugby over the next four years.’

However, the Pretoria franchise will now deeply lament their insistence on installing the exit clause, even though Meyer was opposed to it and requested that it be omitted. They have no legal recourse to assist them in their bid to keep Meyer, although he would have to pay them a relatively small compensation fee. It is completely his decision to stay or leave and he is overwhelmingly expected to do the latter.

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The former Springboks scrumhalf is currently playing for Japanese side Suntory Goliath. The 29-year-old was widely recognised as the world’s finest No 9 before opting to end his international career after the 2011 World Cup. He was initially opposed to the idea of continuing in the green and gold, citing his desire to spend more time with his family, but said he would reconsider that position if Meyer got the nod.

‘I think Heyneke would be the perfect candidate and he deserves the opportunity given what he’s achieved,’ Du Preez said. ‘This will be a rebuilding year for the Boks and Heyneke has shown that there’s nobody better at putting structures into place for long-term success.

‘He could build something that lasts beyond the four-year cycle between World Cups and I think we need that. He hasn’t been a head coach at Test level but indirectly he’s been responsible for much of the success of South African rugby through his player identification and player development at senior and junior level. A hands-on role would make him so much more valuable to South African rugby.’

Du Preez concluded with a telling statement: ‘I’d reconsider international retirement if Heyneke became coach. I would have to prove myself. He must want me. There can be no free rides but I’d love to play under him.’

Meyer, who is expected to be installed in the position on Friday, is known to be a great appreciator of Du Preez’s talent and would welcome his return. Indeed there is a strong possibility that he would initiate it.

In an interview with SA Rugby magazine in 2011 Meyer said of Du Preez: ‘If he doesn’t play the Boks are in serious trouble and the Bulls wouldn’t be the side they have been in the past couple of years.

‘People point out that he is integral to their game plan, which is true. There isn’t a better box-kicking scrumhalf in world rugby. But that doesn’t take into account his full value.

‘As the link between the forwards and the backs he is the most influential player on the park. No player can match his decision-making under pressure. It’s also no secret why Morné [Steyn, Bulls and Springbok flyhalf] excelled in 2009 and struggled in 2010. Fourie takes so much pressure off him. He is the team’s brain and his absence is more often than not reflected in the result. If your scrumhalf crumbles under pressure your whole team will fall apart. Fourie never will because he has no flaws that can be exploited. Absolutely none.’

Meanwhile, another of Meyer’s former students, Victor Matfield, has also issued a veiled suggestion that he could put his retirement on hold to play under Meyer. ‘Everyone knows what I think about Heyneke, but we must wait until Friday before we talk about it,’ the 110-cap lock told the Pretoria News. ‘Let’s wait and see what happens, we will talk. Everything has consequences. Playing? I don’t know but we will see. It depends if he wants me. I really don’t know, it is difficult to say …’

By Ryan Vrede

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Meyer is set to be unveiled in the role on Friday, and with it comes a myriad challenges. These are the ones, in no particular order, that he will have to master.

TRANSFORMATION

I’ve been consistent in my view that transformation is largely the responsibility of the provincial and franchise coaches, but as Springboks chief Meyer cannot be completely mitigated from responsibility in this regard. There will be a string of gifted, young black players at his disposal, among them Juan de Jongh, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Lwazi Mvovo, Bjorn Basson, Gio Aplon and Elton Jantjies, as well as a clutch of junior internationals who’ll rise to prominence during his tenure. How he fares in this facet of his job will be central to how he is measured.

NEGOTIATING THE POLITICAL MINEFIELD

Immense political pressure will accompany the expectation for greater transformation at national level. Meyer’s predecessor Peter de Villiers was largely and curiously spared a grilling for his commitment to a mostly white match 22 for the duration of his tenure. Meyer, an Afrikaner, won’t be afforded such breathing room.

PICKING THE RIGHT ASSISTANTS

In Gary Gold, De Villiers selected a forwards coach with good technical and tactical skills and an unrelenting work ethic. He erred in his pick of back coach, Dick Muir, whose fanciful ideas and philosophies were never going to be effective at Test level. Muir would become a well paid ornament by the end of his stint, with the senior players deciding the attacking strategy. Meyer will have to be astute with his selections, installing men with high levels of skill and competency, innovation, experience, credibility and solid work ethics. There are no outstanding candidates. Meyer has a good relationship with Rassie Erasmus and could turn to him. Expect Victor Matfield to be used as a consultant at some stage, although his coaching inexperience could preclude him for consideration for the forward coach gig. Meyer was also never afraid to look abroad in a bid to improve the Bulls, with a number of foreign consultants sharing their expertise at Loftus during his reign. Backline coach Todd Louden made a marked impression on their attacking play in 2007 and it not beyond reason that Meyer could look to him, or a foreigner of his ilk, to assist him. There is, however, likely to be resistance to this idea…

MEDDLING OF PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL

The suits on the gravy train at the South African Rugby Union have a reputation for killing the soul of national coaches and at some point are bound to impose their unique brand of incompetence on Meyer. He was given a wide berth at the Bulls in his bid to build the world’s best franchise, often travelling abroad to study the tactics, techniques, conditioning methods and recruiting strategies of various sporting codes. Whether these amateurs will rubber stamp Meyer’s progressive plans remains to be seen.

SELECTING A CAPTAIN

John Smit was the outstanding candidate for the job in 2004 but Meyer isn’t in a similarly privileged position. Schalk Burger seems a good fit, but Meyer could well opt for a player he knows and trusts. In discussions with me he has consistently spoken of the leadership credentials of Pierre Spies. Indeed he was central to the decision to appoint him captain of the Bulls.

FOREIGN PICKS

The selection of foreign-based players was a contentious one under De Villiers, who initially refused to consider them but later softened that stance. I haven’t yet established Meyer’s position on this issue, but would hope that he doesn’t share De Villiers’ outdated view and consider a number of men who could add great value to a Springboks squad.

ADVANCING THEIR GAME PLAN

Expect pragmatism to take precedence over panache with the Meyer-coached Springboks. He believes the breakdown laws don’t promote ball retention through multiple phases in your territory and that this dictates you play down in the opposition’s half through tactical kicking, then seek to force them into errors through organised and punishing defence. Sound familiar? It was the strategy the Springboks of 2009 through 2011 employed with varying degrees of success. Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez – disciples of Meyer’s philosophies – drove that process. When employed accurately it is very difficult to counter, but failure to do so will result in the defensive line being exposed. There also needs to be another dimension added to their attacking play in opposition territory. He has the players to shape a formidable attacking force.

HOME SOLIDITY

Under De Villiers the Springboks won 71% of their home Tests. However that figure is improved by victories over weakened northern hemisphere sides in incoming tour matches. They lost five of 11 Tri-Nations Tests between 2008 and 2011, including being blanked by the All Blacks at Newlands in 2008. Meyer needs to forge his Springboks side into a side who are extremely difficult to beat on home soil, maintaining at least an 80% plus win record in the Republic.

TESTING TOURS

The Springboks won nine of 23 away Tests on De Villiers’ watch and just two of 11 in the Tri-Nations. This is an unacceptable return for a side packed with with world-class talent. Meyer consistently stressed the importance of winning on the road when coach of the Bulls and placed an intense focus on uncovering and remedying the reasons why they had struggled to do so. In 2007 they won three from five on the Super Rugby tour and could have come home with a clean sweep. Here’s hoping he has similar success at national level.

CONDITIONING CONSENSUS

With an extended Super Rugby and Rugby Championship format, it is essential that Meyer reaches some consensus with franchises about the game time of their elite players. This has proven near impossible in the past, with franchise coaches understandably concerned primarily with fielding their strongest combinations as often as possible. I don’t see this situation improving.