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Local South African media reports are confirming a suspicion we first heard last year – that Heyneke Meyer would receive a four-year extension offer before the 2015 World Cup.
Die Burger, a respected Afrikaans-language newspaper with good sources, is reporting that Meyer has yet to sign the proposed contract which would keep at the helm of the national squad until the end of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
If this news had broken before last year’s disgraceful tour of Europe, the Springbok fan-base would have for the most part welcomed Meyer’s job security.
Fresh from beating the All Blacks, and sporting a healthy win-loss record, a long-term deal would have been seen as giving the attack-minded coach as a license to blood youth, and try novel approaches to score more tries.
But coming on the heels of a dispiriting loss the Pumas in Durban where his squad looked less fit and far less cohesive than the visitors, a heartbreaking defeat at Ellis Park in a match in which most observers deemed Meyer to have been out-coached by his opposite number, a winless Rugby Championship, and dismal losses in the British Isles last year, attacks on Meyer’s level of commitment to racial ‘transformation,’ this contract extension is bound to be controversial.
The South African Rugby Union, on the other hand, looked at a lack of continuity as one of the problems with the status quo. They were tired of starting from scratch every time a new coach was appointed.
Of course, this decision was long in the making, and as the Boks finished the 2013 season with a 83 per cent win record and more tries-per-test than the All Blacks, it was all roses for the former Bulls coach.
Perhaps it was his faith in his job security that caused him to debut 12 new players in 2012, 11 rookies in 2013, and another 12 in 2014, including a 20-year old at flyhalf in the biggest tests of the year.
Sure, he recalled Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield, and Fourie du Preez, but these three players have at some points in their career been in the conversation about “best in their position.”
But he also threw everyone for a loop when he threw Jesse Kriel in the deep end against Conrad Smith, as well as Lood de Jager at Eden Park last year.
Now that we know he was promised a longer tenure than any Springbok coach in the modern era, maybe we can look back on his choices differently.
Or maybe this is the worst thing that ever happened to South African rugby, as many seem to fear.
Roarers, what do you think?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.