Kudos to Coetzee
29 Oct 2012
RYAN VREDE writes that Allister Coetzee hasn’t received the praise he deserves for what he has achieved by winning the Currie Cup.
There are some champion teams that require low levels of coaching input because of their vast experience or exceptional talent, or indeed a combination of the two. The Crusaders teams that won the last three of their seven Super Rugby titles is one such example, the Bulls 2009 and 2010 Super Rugby side and Springboks’ 2009 British and Irish Lions series winners and Tri-Nations champions another. But the Western Province unit that trumped a Springbok-laden Sharks side who were, on paper, better equipped in all areas that matter, is not one.
They were largely a collection of rookies, many in their first season of senior rugby and most of them forwards. They mostly didn’t have the benefit of being installed next to a seasoned campaigner and had no experience to draw from when the pressure was turned up in the league phase, or indeed in two away play-offs. This was a coaching masterclass from Coetzee. One that hasn’t been fully appreciated.
I was critical of Coetzee’s team in failing to advance to the 2011 and 2012 Super Rugby final despite hosting the semi-finals. I wrote that he was ill-equipped in terms of elevating their attacking game in the opposition’s 22m. My view on this issue hasn’t changed. That, however, must not detract from the overall assessment of Coetzee.
As an assistant to Jake White, Coetzee won the Tri-Nations and World Cup with the Springboks. At the helm of the Stormers he has won two conference titles, and made the 2010 final where they were beaten narrowly by the best Bulls side in the history of the franchise. A Currie Cup final defeat in 2010 preceded their victory on Saturday, rounding off a highly impressive CV.
His talent identification and astute use of that talent has been excellent. I’ve enjoyed his composure (publicly at least) in the face of an injury crisis this season. Seldom lamenting the absence of some world-class players and prodigiously gifted bucks, Coetzee has simply moved on, choosing to extol the values of those coming into the side.
Tactically he has stuck to his beliefs on how the game should be played. This in the face of significant media and public pressure. He adapted his team’s style in the Currie Cup in light of less demanding defences and less potent counter-attackers. The Stormers will return to their territory-based approach in 2013, and rightly so.
Coetzee has also consistently selected more black players than his counterparts, launching the careers of Siya Kolisi, Nizaam Carr, Scarra Ntubeni and Marcel Brache, while making Gio Aplon and Juan de Jongh key members of his sides. He has never lauded his success in this key performance area because I sense he doesn’t view it as a numbers game. He simply picks the best available players, some of whom happen to be black. Coetzee, in this regard, has succeeded where Peter de Villiers, who proclaimed himself the saviour of black players, failed.
In the context of this country’s rugby history it is relevant that he is South Africa’s most successful black coach. What is infinitely more relevant is that he is among the best we’ve ever produced, black or white.
The Super Rugby title still eludes him. He has to succeed there to be considered one of the greats. Provided he can keep a strong squad fit, he can. For now it is important that we give him the praise due for his massive role in breaking an 11-year title drought. He coached WP to Currie Cup glory in the purest sense of the word. Kudos Toetie.
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88 Comments
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29 Oct 2012, 09:22 am
@katman-49: he he he
\
29 Oct 2012, 09:23 am
@Dawn-44: Thanks Dawn!!
Somehow I feel it was his mother that typed that as he was in hospital trying to get rid of the champaigne cork up his butt..
29 Oct 2012, 09:25 am
@katman-49:
Try telling Thelo he can only have one kodo.
He usually gets a bucket of ‘em.
29 Oct 2012, 09:27 am
Shame man must’ve taken a lot for him to grind that out
29 Oct 2012, 09:28 am
Well done to Allistair.
I must say, personally I prefer extreme outcomes, such as one team defying the odds to win a trophy multiple times, or one team continuing a multiple decade losing run.
Hence, WP building their losing innings to a 20 year dry spell would have been more satisfying and memorable in my view.
Alas, it was not to be.
29 Oct 2012, 09:29 am
@gunther-53: For every extra kudo Thelo takes, someone’s going to miss out. As long as he explains to Brok and Fleckie why they have to share.
29 Oct 2012, 09:31 am
@Dawn-54: If he wasn’t behaving like a total asshat the rest of the time he wouldn’t have to come cap in hand with something like that.
29 Oct 2012, 09:32 am
@katman-56:
As long as he doesn’t help himself to Matty Proudfeet’s kudo it shouldn’t be a problem.
29 Oct 2012, 09:32 am
Tacitus
Translate that
29 Oct 2012, 09:36 am
@gunther-58:
The team doctor strongly advised Proudfeet to stay away from the kudo table until further notice.
29 Oct 2012, 09:38 am
@katman-60:
More Oros less Kudos?
29 Oct 2012, 09:45 am
@Dawn-59:
It means it’s nice to refer back to a team that dominated the scene during a specific era, and it’s nice to refer back to a team that performed woefully for an extended period of time. These are extra ordinary occurrences that are fondly remembered.
Having Province break their long losing streak has now brought one such enjoyable occurence to an end.
29 Oct 2012, 09:49 am
The Western Province trophy cabinet is starting to get quite full now, for a change…
29 Oct 2012, 09:51 am
@WP-Forever-63: Every piece of silverware except the u21 CC that exists for a province in SA.
29 Oct 2012, 09:51 am
@WP-Forever-63: I think at Newlands they call it a trophy closet.
29 Oct 2012, 09:57 am
Hehehehe…Juan de Jongh was the best Gangnam Style dancer at the WP awards ceremony…
Juan de Jongh on his try: “I didn’t see it coming, but I just actually want to give all the credit to the flyhalf [Catrakilis] who put me into the gap, as well as the guys who ran the dummy lines to give me the space. At the end of the day, when it happened in that situation, I could put my team in a better position. So, I’m very happy for the guys around me, who could make the try possible. I was maybe just lucky as I got them off-balance, so I just want to give credit to the guys around me.”
29 Oct 2012, 09:58 am
@Tacitus-55: Don’t worry,the Bulls only got a mere 17 years to go to fulfill your fantasies.
29 Oct 2012, 09:58 am
@Provvas-32: Ya, Akerman should learn how to be humble when losing. Perhaps you should pass on the details of the ‘hot to be gracious in victory’ course that you went on. Seems to be working a treat for you.
29 Oct 2012, 10:02 am
@The Bill-68: His Christmas jibe will haunt him for a long time as well.
29 Oct 2012, 10:57 am
recent currie cup ‘droughts’
WP – 2001 – 2012 10 unsuccessful campaigns
Natal – 1996-2008 11 campaigns
Transvaal/lions – 1999-2010 11 campaigns
FState – 1976-2005 28 campaigns
NTvl/Bulls – 1 win in last 8 campaigns.
So basically everyone has had recent periods of not winning the cup, it’s a really dumb argument to point out for anyone.
29 Oct 2012, 11:18 am
Kudos is one of those words like congeries that look like plurals but are etymologically singular. Acknowledging the Greek history of the term requires Kudos is (not are) due her for her brilliant work on the score. But kudos has often been treated as a plural, especially in the popular press, as in She received many kudos for her work. This plural use has given rise to the singular form kudo. These innovations follow the pattern whereby the English words pea and cherry were shortened from nouns ending in an (s) sound (English pease and French cerise), that were mistakenly thought to be plural. The singular kudo remains far less common than the plural use; both are often viewed as incorrect in more formal contexts. · It is worth noting that even people who are careful to treat kudos only as a singular often pronounce it as if it were a plural. Etymology would require that the final consonant be pronounced as a voiceless (s), as we do in pathos, another word derived from Greek, rather than as a voiced (z).
29 Oct 2012, 11:27 am
@Beertjie-71: Thelo is going to be most disappointed when he reads your post. He had his eye on at least half a dozen kudos.
29 Oct 2012, 13:18 pm
@Tacitus-62: Classic! Excellent…
29 Oct 2012, 14:18 pm
“Coetzee, in this regard, has succeeded where Peter de Villiers, who proclaimed himself the saviour of black players, failed.”
Why bring your hatred of PdV into an otherwise good article?
AC is a provincial coach. He has a much wider choice when it comes to P’sOC.
PdV was a national coach. He could only work with the players developed by the PROVINCES in the 1st place. If they did not do their bid, his hands were tied.
Please man, PdV was released of his contract 10 months ago already. Time for you to move on.
29 Oct 2012, 14:21 pm
@nama1-74: How you feeling today Nam’s?
29 Oct 2012, 14:22 pm
@WP-Forever-66: He is a really good player but eff me I hate those dances when players score, give me the stoic jaw clench and high five anyday
29 Oct 2012, 15:22 pm
@Skeppie-75:
Trying to move on Skeppie. It was a wonderful two days with WP winning but it’s time to move ahead now.
Thanks for asking, bru.
29 Oct 2012, 19:55 pm
Enjoy the Victory Parade, AC. You are a humble man. Take a bow.
29 Oct 2012, 20:14 pm
@Skeppie-76: move with the times the “stoic jaw” thing is in the past…players in all sport celebrate great plays & rugby has moved with the times…
think tiger woods, serena williams, le bron james…
29 Oct 2012, 22:32 pm
It would have been intersting if Coezee had taken over from Jake White, without losing any of the intellectual property that they had built up together. However, I recall that he was backline coach, and the Bok backline was nowhere until Eddie Jones came along. Obviously the Jake White patented head coach method works (given the results achieved by him and his successors).
Also, the WP seem to have starte to make changes to their attacking game that makes them score more tries. Hopefully that will come through in 2013 Super rugby. It was the one thing that was holding back the Stormers.
29 Oct 2012, 23:25 pm
Coetzee is an excellent coach and has excellent personell skills.
He gets the side to play for each other.
Imso glad he has a trophy to show for his efforts
30 Oct 2012, 07:25 am
@Transformation-79: If sportsmen want to take their cue regarding celebrations from someone, it should be Ivan Lendl. Or, at a push, Kimi Raikonnen. Anything more extravagant is obscene.
30 Oct 2012, 08:17 am
@katman-82: Nah, this is how it should be done…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBXQlGNAx_Q
30 Oct 2012, 09:05 am
@Blokkies-83: That requires a sniper in the back row.
30 Oct 2012, 09:21 am
If you can react like this, why would you do it any other way?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xAPwx3z950
30 Oct 2012, 21:41 pm
@Skeppie-76: @katman-82: LOL, you guys made my day!!! It was unthinkable in my day too! It makes it better that he is Province boy otherwise I am not sure how the TV would have survived a kick from me with that dance. As Transie put it though, times are changing, sigh.
31 Oct 2012, 09:35 am
@Ryan you started off so well by giving AC his deserved credit, but then you spoiled it by mentioning his racial orientation. He did well as a coach, and just that! What I’m trying to say is this: Lets move forward and see beyond that which seperates us, but rather that which unites us!
31 Oct 2012, 17:37 pm
@Mike H-81: He is a man with a plan,and he is able to get his players to believe in that plan,and to believe in themselves.
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