Head hunting is the way to go

I tried to hit some balls during the Sharks Supporters Club Golf Day at Rondebosch on Friday, but struggled to do so for I had forgotten course etiquette and had taken my cellphone out with me.

It wouldn’t stop ringing, and once it did start ringing, it couldn’t be ignored. The spark for the all the activity was my story on SuperSport.com announcing Peter de Villiers’s intention to apply for the Springbok coaching position should the South African Rugby Union call for applications.

I am busy writing Peter’s book, which is why I am seeing a lot of him at the moment, but I am not – I repeat not – his agent. There seems to be some confusion, for some media people asked me if I could organise interviews.

Writing his book, to those who don’t understand this, does not mean he gets my unqualified support. I do go along with those who say that it is time for fresh blood and if Saru are not going to follow the suggestion I made a few weeks back by asking Reds coach Ewen McKenzie if he is interested, then Allister Coetzee, John Mitchell and Rassie Erasmus are the triumvirate that the administrators should be looking at.

I can understand completely why he did it and laud him for it because the other alternative might have led to disaster, but I was never a big fan of Div’s player-driven system. Let’s rephrase that – there is a time and place for the player-driven system, but sometimes it can be taken too far.

De Villiers definitely did better than I thought he would in those dark days of his first season in charge, and you only have to witness the fuss being made around the Boks every time they go near an airport to agree that he did achieve one of his primary missions – which was to make the Boks more accessible to the entire South African population.

But the next four years, with the core of the 2007 World Cup winning leadership moving on, will require a different approach and a different kind of coach.

What I didn’t understand on Friday afternoon though, was the huff some people seemed to get into. I received an SMS from someone asking what right De Villiers had to put his name in the hat and calling him a whole heap of unflattering names.

Much of this anger may have been caused by the age-old problem we journalists sometimes face: people read the headline, and don’t really fully read the story. A look at what De Villiers was saying should have been enough to convince that in no sense was he being unreasonable. All he was saying was that he enjoyed doing the job and if applications were asked for, he would put in an application.

He emphasised that there was no expectation for him to get the job, he did not want to fight with anyone and did not see himself as having a right to the job. "No-one owes me anything," he said, and he fully accepts that his four-year tenure as coach is over and that after next month he is no longer the coach.

The caveat was simply that if Saru needed him, he would be available to serve his country again. No more than that. Is that reason to pillory the guy?

To those who ask if he has a right to put his name in the mix again, consider what his credentials are now in comparison to when he first got the job. In 2007 he had enjoyed some success with a few age-group sides. At the end of 2011 he boasts a CV that includes three consecutive wins over the All Blacks, two away wins over the All Blacks, a series win over the British and Irish Lions, a Tri-Nations title, and two big wins at Twickenham of which one was a record defeat for England.

So if Saru thought he was good enough for the job in 2007, they should certainly think his claims are worthy of consideration now. And that is one of the reasons I would be pleased to see his name in the mix – it would force Saru to produce decision-making capabilities that have seemed beyond them in the past four years.

But it shouldn’t come to the point where Saru have to consider De Villiers’s application, because they shouldn’t be calling for applications. We keep hearing that the other top coaches listed as possible successors to De Villiers are announcing they are unavailable. What would you expect them to do if you consider they are all currently in sound employment?

Coetzee and Mitchell are right to say they aren’t interested when they are just among the many possible candidates. Any other approach would just lead to the Stormers and Lions questioning their commitment. Go to them though with a firm offer, and both of them are likely to give it a lot more consideration. Surely Bok coach is one position you headhunt for because you should know what you're looking for?