Sharks coach Dick Muir, who made a belated attempt to be considered as Springbok coach after incumbent Jake White’s term expires, will not be in line for the position.
This follows a resolution by the South African Rugby Union’s president’s council, which met in Johannesburg on Thursday.
In a press statement, the council said it approved of the process followed by the committee established to facilitate the appointment of the national team coach to date.
The four shortlisted candidates will undergo final interviews on December 3 and 4, whereafter a special meeting of the president’s council will be convened to appoint the new Springbok coach.
The fact that White was initially not considered for an extension of his contract, because he had not applied by the deadline, probably put paid to Muir’s aspirations.
The four candidates who will undergo interviews are Allister Coetzee, currently still the Springboks’ back-line coach; Peter de Villiers, the national Under-21 coach; Heyneke Meyer, former Springbok assistant coach and Bulls Super 14 coach; as well as Chester Williams, former Cats coach.
The president’s council also resolved that the decision of August 2 this year, in terms of which overseas-based Springbok players will not be considered for national team selection, be suspended pending further discussions with the South African Players’ Association and other key stakeholders.
The August decision was taken in the aftermath of a number of leading Springboks and candidates for the national team deciding to pursue their careers overseas.
A third resolution taken by the council at Thursday’s meeting was that it will try to accommodate the request from King Zwelonke Sigcawu for the Springboks to visit the Xhosa kingdom prior to the team’s departure to the United Kingdom on November 16.
The council also congratulated the national rugby team for winning the Webb Ellis trophy at the recent Rugby World Cup tournament in France. — Sapa