OPINION: Jan de Koning asks some probing questions about the ‘Springbok coaching invasion’ of Loftus Versfeld.
South Africa’s domestic derbies are always spicy, with the big North-South derby taking it to another level.
Such is the puffery of the Round Nine United Rugby Championship face-off between the Stormers and Bulls this coming Saturday, that the Cape Town Stadium looks set to be a sell-out.
With all the ballyhoo around the struggling Bulls’ coaching roster – which included the axing of Andries Bekker and Chris Rossouw last week – many pundits broods over the possibility of a rebound performance by the Pretoria team.
- To read my take on the backroom staff clean-out, CLICK HERE!
Hoping to end to end their five-match losing streak, the Bulls reached out to the Springbok coaches, under the leadership of Rassie Erasmus, for assistance.
It was confirmed at the weekend that the request resulted in Bok assistant coaches Felix Jones and Jerry Flannery, Mobi-Unit coach Duane Vermeulen, and Head of Athletic Performance Andy Edwards providing ‘short-term’ support to the Bulls.
“The Bok coaches will engage with the Bulls on a limited basis, both remotely and in person where required,” a SARU statement said.
This is, according to the media release, in line with SARU’s standard practice of sharing national coaching resources when requested.
The development added some additional piquancy to what is already shaping up to be a hot-blooded and demonstrative affair.
It is, perhaps, not the ‘spice’ the face-off needed.
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Yes, it is not the first time the Bok backroom staff has helped out at a franchise.
Vermeulen, who played for the Bulls in the latter stages of his career, had previously ‘assisted’ at Loftus Versfeld.
Daan Human visited the Stormers, for a day, back in 2023.
Those trips and cost for the visits were for the account of the Bulls and Stormers.
However, the questions around the dispatching of Bok assistants, en bloc, in a derby weekend is reverberating around the country.
Yes, it is in line with SARU’s practice of sharing national coaching resources ‘when requested’.
It was communicated to the franchises a few years ago and some have made use of it.
The riddle is whether this is in line with the agreed protocol that it should not happen when SA franchises face off, as they do this week.
Now, four coaches have been made available to the Bulls in a derby week.
The Lions and Sharks, who have had coaching challenges of their own, could certainly have done with some assistance.
There would certainly be some ‘raised eyebrows’ in Durban and Johannesburg, given the Sharks host the Lions in the other SA derby this week.
The surprise is considerable in those two cities, while the disapproval is more than just ‘mild’.
It is a matter of principle.
If the agreement (protocol) was that there should be no ‘assistance’ in derby weeks, then four members of the Bok backroom staff is a jaw-dropping move.
The Mobi-Unit assistance comes at a time when Bulls coach Johan Ackermann, for the first time since his appointment in June, will have access to his full squad.
It is going to be a wild Saturday in Cape Town!
