South African rugby bosses seem intent on tempting fate once more, with the announcement of the new Springbok coach scheduled to take place in Stellenbosch on the most superstitious day of the year — Friday the 13th.
The last time a new Springbok coach was revealed to the public was on April Fool’s Day two years ago when Rudolf Straeuli was sworn in. During his reign South African rugby plummeted to depths of despair never thought possible.
Hopefully though for the new coach it will be a case of ”lucky 13”, although the task that awaits him will require a Herculean effort to please the country’s win-starved rugby fans.
Speculation has been rife in the past few weeks as to who will take the hot seat, but indications are that the race is still relatively wide open.
Three men — Chester Williams, Jake White and Rudy Joubert — are the front-runners for the post, with newspapers throughout the country tipping each as the ”favourite” at different stages in the build-up to the big announcement.
Joubert was on the four-man short-list last time and he has a solid Super 12 record, but the fact that he was part of the management for the botched World Cup campaign may count against him.
Williams, meanwhile, has impressed as coach of the Springbok Sevens team and would be an immensely popular choice with public, but his lack of pedigree in the 15-man version of the game cannot be taken lightly.
White has risen up through the South African coaching ranks and has done his time as a coach at the various levels — although he has not coached at Super 12 level — taking South Africa to the Junior World Cup title in 2002.
Apart from his success with the under-21s, also notable is his experience of a winning Springbok culture when he served under Nick Mallett in 1998 as technical adviser.
Unlike Williams, White boasts extensive and current experience coaching the 15-man game, and he is not tainted by membership of the management that was involved at the World Cup.
The long shot is Western Province’s Carel du Plessis, who some credit with laying the foundation that saw Mallett take the Boks to a record-equalling 17 consecutive Test victories.
Others in the hunt are Stormers coach Gert Smal, Pieter de Villers of the Falcons, Boland’s Jerome Paarwater and Dumisani Mhani.
It is doubtful any of that quartet will get the nod, but considering the current changes sweeping through rugby anything is possible.
The new man will be named after a meeting of the South African Rugby Football Union executive committee and the board of SA Rugby.
The announcement will be broadcast live on CSN and SuperSport One at 6.50pm on Friday. — Sapa