Carel Du Plessis
Steve Morris : Rugby
The demise of Carel du Plessis as national coach marks more than just the relegation of a moral and well-intentioned man to the relative obscurity he suddenly arrived from, it leaves the man who steps into the hottest seat in world rugby a task that is unenviable by any standards.
It also poses the question whether that man will have the strength of purpose and personality to impose on the iconoclastic monolith of the South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) the stamp of professionalism so sorely needed.
The challenge no less than having to apply for the job and doubtless stand before a panel of Sarfus greybeards to get the job is not one for the faint of heart.
The job comes with the in-built knowledge that the Springbok squad will again have to be rebuilt; the playing pattern re- established and the memory of the losing habit, which has become the norm, erased for good.
But more than that, the new coach will have to take with him the knowledge that the men who run Sarfu, while their understanding of a game that has changed so dramatically since the advent of professionalism may arguably have stood rooted in the amateur era, are always capable of the sudden shifts of allegiance and subtle manoeuvrings which have ever typified the rulers of rugby in this country.
Here, it is of more than passing interest to examine the manner in which the dismissal of Du Plessis was handled and the unfulfilled part of his contract undoubtedly financed.
Garry Pagel and Gavin Johnson were released from their World Cup contracts to round out their playing careers in the cash-rich English league. While the full details of all the contracts that were so hastily signed by Louis Luyt to ward off the advances of Kerry Packers rival body are still not available for public consumption, neither player could have been on less than R60 000 as a monthly retainer.
Even if this conservative estimate is the case and both were at the bottom of the pile, that adds up to something in the region of R1,2-million for the 10 months the contracts still have to run, leaving a book balance more than sufficient to pay off anything Du Plessis and his assistant Gert Smal may have asked for to clear the way for a new team management.
Equally disturbing as a view from the terraces is the apparent reconciliation between Sarfu vice-president Mululeki George and former national steersman Andre Markgraaff, which has brought the glowering Kimberley man back into the reckoning.
Markgraaffs public outpourings of regret for a string of sickening racial slurs equally nauseatingly recorded in a clandestine manner and Georges acceptance of this almost Catholic catharsis of public confession, do little to inspire confidence that Markgraaff is again the man.
Certainly, the rest of the world will again shake their heads in wonder at the naivete of South Africans for believing that the stain of the past is anything other than that which so bedevilled Hamlet.
The job is not one that beckons, as the reluctance of some of the countrys top coaches to join the running attests to. Kitch Christie has said unequivocally that he will have no part in it. He has ill- health, a massive business and the painful experience of recent history to convince him.
Dawie Snyman, as the new Gauteng coach and probably the man closest to Luyt at present, has also opted out of a bid for the Springbok coaching job. He has a big enough job on his hands as it is trying to revive the fortunes of an Ellis Park line- up riddled with injury and in the same type of losing pattern which has been the norm for the national side, and rightly sees this as his priority.
Harry Viljoen, another who has rubbed up against Luyt in the past most notably during the attempted Packer pillaging of South Africas rugby-playing riches has also wisely decided to stick with Western Province. Viljoen has done a marvellous job in the Cape, turning a side that had ceased to believe in itself into a winning combination strong enough to once again challenge for Currie Cup honours and produce some of the most entertainingly expansive rugby around.
Which pretty much leaves a choice between Natals Ian McIntosh, who was sacked from the job in 1994 after the disastrous tour of New Zealand, and Bolands Nick Mallett, equally summarily ousted as forward coach when Du Plessis hastily took over from Markgraaff, among the established coaches with the required qualifications.
Both have expressed interest in making an application. Both must have reservations. McIntosh the man Christie says is the most highly qualified has gone so far as to say that it is a job he wants more than anything … but only on his own terms.
These would include a free hand in picking his own side, unlike his previous visit to the position when a squad, selected by an unwieldy panel of seven selectors, foisted a mishmash of playing talents on him and expected a Springbok team to emerge.
As Christie so rightly points out, when he took over, 18 of those players were axed immediately. It is not an experiment McIntosh will want to repeat.
Mallett has the virtue of coming to the job with some experience with the Springboks under Markgraaff, a wealth of knowledge gained as a player and coach in France and sight of the top playing talent around from the coaching seat at Boland, a side he has turned from just another name on the roster into a potent side that cannot be under- estimated by anyone.
The big former Springbok No 8 also has the strength of character to stand up to Sarfu, as his famous two-fingered gesture to the selectors would indicate. It is perhaps time that we had someone who speaks his mind and gets on with the job. If this is the case, look no further.
But then, who can read the minds of the rulers of rugby?
It is one of the unexplained enigmas of the human condition that consultants for, in essence, that is what the coach is can be hired at sums far beyond the dreams of the average South African … and then have their advice and thinking all but ignored.
Sarfu have shown this over and over … and given new credence to the thoughts of Sam Goldwyn who was of the firm opinion that verbal contracts were not worth the paper they were printed on.
Clive Barker
Andrew Muchineripi : Soccer
Clive Barker is obviously a disciple of Bill Shankly, the late Liverpool manager who once pronounced that football was not a matter of life and death, it was far more important than that.
How else can the South African national coach explain his demand for R200 000 a month to guide the national team to the 1998 World Cup finals while President Mandela earns less than R50 000.
Negotiations between the highly successful Barker and the South African Football Association (Safa) over whether the national coach should operate on a part- time or full-time basis have been continuing for some time. It was the man who brought South Africa the 1996 African Nations Cup and a place among the elite in France who set the ball rolling last month by stating that he believed the time had come for a full-time national coach.
Last week, Safa reportedly offered Barker R70 000, an increase of about R25 000 on his present salary, to make the switch. This week, Barker responded by asking for R200 000 before tax and other deductions.
Safa president Molefi Oliphant and chief executive officer Danny Jordaan decided to put the proposal before a meeting of the international board on Wednesday, saying it would not be proper to reach an agreement without consulting other members.
An interesting statement, that. One can hardly have imagined former Safa supremo Solomon Morewa being so democratic. It was the habitual tendency of Bra Stix to go it alone which contributed to his downfall. It is a lot of money, Oliphant added without a hint of understatement.
To be precise, Barker will earn R2,2- million by the time the World Cup ends next July and once the news broke, the soccer world began to debate whether the coach was worth it.
Oliphant seemed confused, telling one newspaper that the national association could definitely not afford that amount of money. Where are we expected to get the money from, he wondered.
The answer came from the same man on the same day in another Johannesburg-based daily. Asked who would underwrite the Barker salary, Oliphant said Safa sponsors would get involved. The only certainty about the Safa president appears to be his uncertainty. Still, he deserves credit for disclosing the financial details rather than risking another bout of media speculation.
In this position there is no such thing as confidentiality. It is better to release the figures than to have the media speculate incorrectly, he said. Given the long-standing preference many scribes have for fiction rather than fact, it was a wise move.
But not one that pleased Barker or the professional wing of Safa, the Premier Soccer League, whose spokesman Andrew Dipela said, It was unfortunate that it had to be reported. We feel it is a matter between Safa and Clive Barker.
Barker reportedly told Oliphant and Jordaan that the media were making a circus out of his contract issue and that he was unhappy that his salary was being speculated on.
On a brighter note, the man who runs a sports goods agency in Durban when not coaching Bafana Bafana, declared he would definitely remain in charge, either on a part-time or full-time basis.
Is Clive Barker, once a modest Durban-based footballer whose coaching of the national team has transformed them from also-rans into continental champions within two years, worth R200 000 a month? One Premier Soccer League coach said Barker had been through hellish pressure since taking charge in April 1994, but the figure was unrealistic and he expected Clive to continue on a part-time basis.
A business executive, also speaking on condition of anonymity, thought the financial demands were ridiculous. Does Clive really expect Danny Jordaan, who earns R20 000 a month, to accept a R200 000-a-month deal, she asked. Many football fans believed Morewa earned too much and his salary was R35 000. Acceptance of Barkers demands could alienate the coach among fans. Football may be important, but President Mandela has to make really important decisions.
Hopefully, the speculation will end on Wednesday with the odds favouring Barker continuing in a part-time role boosted by a salary increase that will keep him ahead of his national counterparts in rugby (R40 000) and cricket (R25 000 plus perks.)