Coetzee’s future to decided in January

The future of beleaguered Springbok coach Allister Coetzee will be revealed next month after he submitted a review of his team’s dismal 2016 season to South Africa Rugby’s Springbok Steering Committee.

Coetzee and senior players, outgoing captain Adriaan Strauss, Pat Lambie and Tendai Mtawarira, gave their analysis of the worst year in Bok history in which the two-time World Cup winners lost eight of their 12 Tests.

The panel included SA Rugby’s High Performance Committee, as well as CEO Jurie Roux and president Mark Alexander, and the latter suggested there would be no snap decisions on Coetzee’s future.

“We know Springbok supporters and our partners are looking to us for instant answers and many of them may want to see heads roll,” Alexander said in a statement.

“But building winning teams is not an exact science and we want to make sure that the changes we make are the right solutions to our current problems.

“This was not a witch hunt but a proper process to interrogate where things went wrong with a focus on finding answers and ensuring that it does not happen again.”

Alexander added that the review will continue in the New Year.

“We will act upon whatever interventions are identified as being necessary by all involved,” he said. “I would expect that process to be completed before the end of January.”

There has been an outcry from fans over South Africa’s performances this year, including a first ever loss to Italy, a first home defeat by Ireland, a maiden loss in Argentina and a record 57-15 mauling by arch-rivals New Zealand.

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