Four years ago the Boks were crowned World Champions for the second time and SA Rugby was covered in glory. Having without doubt the most complete team in all the rugby world and with fantastic talent on the fringes, SARU (the people who are essentially in charge of the great game here) decided that they would celebrate what was going to be the start of a bright future by welcoming back all conquering coach Jake White with a hand shake and good bye. While the rest of the world scratched their collective heads at this decision (especially as All Black coach Graeme Henry retained his job after being knocked out in the quarters), SARU felt no remorse and then proceeded to do something even more unexpected.
SARU - Crazy Mother .......
On the back of successful fan campaigns by South Africa’s biggest beer, cell phone and sports broadcasting brands, the organisational body thought they would run a Superfan competition of their own and select Peter De Villiers instead of an actual coach to replace the celebrated White.
This ground breaking decision was naturally met with a fair amount of opposition though. Heyneke Meyer for one didn’t think it was so super as he was next in line after coaching well for the Bulls in Super and Currie Cup rugby. SARU were adamant about the choice though identifying it as a marvellous marketing opportunity to further capitalise on the Boks being on the front foot. De Villiers himself was naturally overjoyed at being chosen from literally millions of fellow fans. He then became positively ecstatic as SARU went a step further by revealing that the Superfan winner would officially assume the title of ‘coach’, meaning he would get to chat to the media, go on all the overseas tours, fly business class, stay in five star hotels, and watch every Bok game in the Bok management box with unlimited Energade!
I love green Oregan!!!
The good news kept coming for the Divster, he was then told he could pick whoever he wanted to play in the team, provided with loads of actual coaches and fitted for his own Springbok blazer to make him look like a 100% legit international rugby coach to naked eye. And best of all – the prize was guaranteed to run for four years!
Ha ha, of course I have all their autographs.
The first year of the Superfan competition sadly didn’t go to well though, the Boks finished last in the Tri-Nations which annoyed Div a little, but after extensive work from the participating sponsors and players themselves, they managed to turn it around in 2009 with the Boks providing Div a British Lions tour and Tri-Nations success. Sho, was he having a lekker time now and so were SARU who were even starting to receive credit for their bold Superfan campaign. Bafana Bafana were urged to follow suit but felt that there was already too much fan involvement with a number of their players already being made up of party animal and layabouts. The Proteas big wigs were dead keen but opted against it in the end due to Graeme Smith’s involvement as the captain across all forms of the game.
Pitso Mosimane happy Bafana went with a coach.
Like all pilot ideas however, cracks started to show. 2010 saw the Boks losing serious momentum, another wooden spoon in the Tri-Nations followed and poor Div even had to suffer a loss to Scotland on their end of year tour. Calls for an actual coach started to gain momentum from all sides and suddenly SARU’s Superfan campaign was battling to maintain favour. Ever the professional organisation though, they then used the 2011 Rugby World Cup for a bit of positive spin. It was unfair that Div would have to suffer such criticism as a prize winner, but with the word that the Boks should only be judged on World Cup performance, everyone took a step back and the fun returned to the Superfan campaign and Div got to enjoy the perks again.
Ha ha, coach Dick - get it!
SARU, chuffed to have dodged a bit of a bullet, then called P Divvy in for an emergency Superfan competition. They apologised to the moustached man at length sighting teething problems of the campaign creating a bit of a bumpy road. They then gave him a full itinerary for the final year of his prize complete with prepared media dialogue and additional staff to make the road a little smoother.
What made the SARU Superfan campaign so impressive was the sheer number of top quality events that Div got to be involved in. Usually these competitions see fans go to just one tournament or match, but with so many outings already under his belt, P Div then got to go to a World Cup as well! It was a glorious occasion for the man who was clearly loving it from start to finish. Sadly though, it all came to an end this past Sunday as the Boks somehow managed to lose to Australia and thus bowed out of the tournament. It was a massive blow for all Bok fans, most of all P Div who was so close to the action and got to experience the devastation of defeat first hand.
SARU Superfan - always inside the ropes.
SARU have declined to comment on whether or not they will be going into a second Superfan campaign. Mutterings from within say that they may need to actually put the mechanic on ice for a while and now pick an actual coach for the next four years. Obvious problems were that a lot of the senior players had to stay on as P Div thought they were part of his prize and SARU didn’t want to ruffle any feathers by saying they were past it. This selection loyalty may have cost the Boks in this World Cup, but P Div was able to have dinner with John Smit all the time and this in itself created great PR in the eyes of SARU.
Thank you SARU - you're the best.
As TheBounce is a site purely for the sports fans, we wish P Div all the best in the future. He must have memories to last a lifetime and no doubt made a whole bunch of new friends over the past few years with the Springboks.
Tags: peter de villiers, saru, superfan
This was always going to be a problem after Jake was “fired” after winning the cup. ARU renewed Deans’ contract before the WC even began. The South african team is one of our greatest ambassadors and us as the public should approve of the coach. I personally did not meat one person Pro P-Divvy (Not 1 person!!!). This is a sad state of affairs.
My dislike for the man actually meant that I felt the end of his tenure as coach was actually a consolation prize, despite the despair of a Bokke loss.
I would love to see the job go to someone who deserves it, someone who the Bokke fans can respect. Someone who can be seen as a leader both by the players and by the press.
I personally am not a large fan of the Stormers, but the work Alistair Coetzee has done there is very noticeable. Him and his defensive coach clearly know whats plotting.
Perhaps Allister Coetzee, Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus/John Mitchell.
What do you think?
Spot on. I just feel Coetzee is an assistant coach, much like Wynand Olivier is a Super 15 player and nothing more. John Mitchell would be a great leader, my head and heart tells me that.
As Long as there are no stupid surprises from Saru and they choose someone who we can all be proud of I will be happy.
John Mitchell Head Coach sounds like a breath of fresh air to me:)
Agreed the two best coaches in SA at the moment are the two Kiwi’s but there’s slim to no chance of them getting a shot at coaching the boks.
Prof Tim Nokes also talked about the Kiwi coaches. 3 of the remaining teams in the RWC has Kiwi Coaches.
Then the 2 top sides in the Currie Cup also has Kiwi Coaches.
I am a Stormer and Province supporter, but i don’t like Alastair Coetzee.
Every time he is on TV he just talks talks talks talks – and he is starting to sound like a politician. All the big words before and after the game, but he cant back any of what he is saying on the field.
On the supersport talk show last night, he interrupted John Mitchell constantly. I was getting so irritated with him, cause i was actually interested in what Mitchell had to say.
When Mitchell talks you can hear that he knows what he is talking about. He is very believable and he can back what he is saying, cause the lions are playing the best brand of rugby currently in the Currie Cup.
He is a “king maker”. He took a below average Lions side, brought in new talent, and now they are the best side in South Africa. He brings out the best in his players. And that’s what a coaching is all about. (Like what Garry Kirsten did for the Indian Cricket team)
Haha… exactly my thoughts… whenever they would cross to his box, I always thought of him as the biggest fan with the best seats in the house.
Personally, I’d go Mitchell as head, Meyer as forwards coach and Brendan Venter as the backline coach. Rassie to stay on as technical advisor.
Please don’t forget about Dick Muir. He should stick around in the coaching department. He very successfully grew the Sharks academy which has been instrumental in The Sharks strong performances over recent years. He then did a stint at the Lions and did a great job building a base for a team that was really in tatters. John Mitchell took over and is now doing fantastically with them thanks to the work Dick Muir did prior to him. A John Mitchell and Dick Muir combo for coach/assistant will be very powerful.
@kernkraft401
While at the lions Dick Muir did not manage to win a single game in the 2010 Super14.
They lost all 13 games, and only managed to gather 5 bonus points during 13 games.
72 tries were scored against them, that’s an average of 5.5 per game.
If you think about that now, you might also ask why the hell he was involved with the Springboks?!
please, lets not there….