It is being widely reported that the Stormers coaching team of Allister Coetzee, Robbie Fleck and Matthew Proudfoot may be under threat of losing their positions following a meeting between Thelo Wakefield and the coaching team over the weekend.
WPRU president Wakefield, who is on tour with the DHL Stormers in Australia, reportedly met with them to urgently discuss the way forward following a third straight loss on tour, and amid growing calls from supporters for something to be done.
Various names are being bandied about, including Gert Smal and Brendan Venter, both who have excellent pedigrees and currently reside in Cape Town. If they are brought in, and in what capacity remains to be seen. Currently Allister Coetzee holds both the coaching and Director of Rugby position, something that has been widely criticized as being too much to handle effectively. Should Coetzee retain his coaching role, it would seen likely that someone would be brought in to fulfill the D.O.R. role in the union. This will undoubtedly achieve very little in the short term but would be a welcome move nonetheless.
Coetzee remains one of the most successful South African Super Rugby coaches (measured in win percentages) in spite of never winning the competition and as such I would be surprised if he is replaced, even given the current situation. The more likely route would be to shake up the coaching team by replacing one or both of Proudfoot or Fleck, while retaining Coetzee. It is possible that current WP Vodacom Cup coach John Dobson may be brought in to assist until more permanent replacements can be found.
Wakefield should make his announcement within the next week, possibly on the return of the touring squad following their last tour fixture against the Reds this weekend.
AC is NOT under any threat, don’t kid yourselves guys!
🙂
At the worst case scenario Pieter de Villiers might replace AC, but then what reputable rugby assistant would like to work under PdV and the Wakefield @ Tito dark Cabal at WP?
Name one!
😉
@ Hondo:
As I said in the article, I would be surprised if he is replaced as coach. But not for the same reasons that you have put forward.
Really? Makes me wonder how they measure success. The only successful super rugby coaches in SA are Heyneke Meyer and Frans Ludeke.
@ leon:
He has the highest win percentage of all the coaches. He hasn’t won anything and there’s no getting around that fact though.
leon wrote:
Having said what I said above, I will adjust the article to qualify the statement. I agree that the only real measure of success for the Stormers should be winning trophies in the cabinet.
@ Stormersboy @5:
ok, thanks. Trophies and gold medals are the only real success measurement in any sport.
@ Stormersboy:
91% of the Stormers’ victories (with AC as the coach) last 3 seasons obtained under SA Referees 😉
Interesting?
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