RUGBY: Jon Swift
IT is to the credit of the new-style South African Rugby Football Union that the process of changing the top playing management has been a fairly smooth affair. And while there has been some chopping and changing, this has been without the blood-letting which has typified such changes both historically and in the not-so-distant past.
It has been achieved in much the same way as the success of the Springboks in the World Cup — by building something akin to a squad system into team management.
There has been little doubt for some time that Andre Markgraaff of Griquas would be the man to take over the reins as coach from Kitch Christie. This has become reality now that Christie and Markgraaff form the top end of the coaching staff at national level. Christie continues in his highly successful role for at least seven of the 11 internationals already scheduled for the coming season, Markgraaff serves as his deputy.
With Morne du Plessis stepping down as a selector, Markgraaff also joins Christie and Piet Jooste on the panel. It is a sensible and logical move on two fronts. First, Markgraaff gets hands-on exposure to the way Christie has tended to shape the national side through the extended squad system and ensure that this particular winning wheel does not go through a process of being reinvented.
Second, the new assistant coach is a direct part of the on-the-field process of honing the side to the peaks of homogeneity Christie has
In this respect there is also the welcome addition of Ray Mordt to the equation. Mordt, who will handle the backline and fitness coaching under the top two, is widely recognised as one of the toughest taskmasters in world rugby. If nothing else, Springbok teams over the testing year ahead will not lack for fitness.
It would also point to an ease of transition when — indeed if — Christie finally bows out next August. It all makes eloquent sense. But there are some issues which are not quite as clear cut.
The most important of these is a successor to Du Plessis as manager. Relieving the revered former Bok captain of selectorial duties to bring him even closer to the team is one thing. But having entrenched the type of bonding Du Plessis has with the team, finding someone to fill the managerial shoes when the time comes will surely not be as easy.
There is also the fact that having applied such reasoned logic to the integration of team management into the game, there is perhaps a case for Sarfu to apply the same thinking to the administrative management. But then the on-the-ground perspicacity of a Christie and the diplomacy of a Du Plessis are not gifts handed out to all mortals.
And though Christie rightly paid tribute to Louis Luyt in accepting the Administrator of the Year award from the Rand Sportswriters — – in the process pointing out that he was a coach and not an administrator — there have been times when Sarfu was in dire need of the qualities already listed.