South African rugby coaches have a tendency to copy what they see happening in the Super 12, or in international rugby, and are not very innovative when it comes to tactics and game planning.
This is the view of SA under-21 coach, Jake White, who addressed the launch of the Powerade Coaching Academy during the Coca-Cola Craven Week in Wellington on Wednesday. White, who will head the new initiative, said that its main aims were to enlighten local coaches.
”Looking at the players at this week, there is no doubt that we have plenty of available talent,” White said, ”and there are many dedicated and intelligent coaches around. What is needed is to open them up to what is happening elsewhere, to move our rugby away from its conservatism and to expose coaches and players to the latest techniques and methodologies.”
The academy kicks off on Friday when White will brief the coaches of the teams at the Craven Week and it will then enter a pilot phase concentrating on 10 schools for the rest of this season.
The programme will be rolled out country-wide in 2004. – Sapa