Why is SARU waiting until January 27?

Detective Jimmy McNulty once said in The Wire, when referring to lives on the street versus the way politics interacts with those lives, “It just never connects.” He was known to be a brilliant detective, but self-destructive, at the cost of those around him, with his partner Bunk Moreland once stating, “You’re no good for people, Jimmy.”

This brings me to January 27. That, for what Springboks supporters have been told, is D-Day. That is the day the new Springbok coach is meant to be named. But this is South Africa, folks. Nothing is as it seems. As Hunter S Thompson once said, he doesn’t tend to believe the truth is told ‘between the 9 to 5 hours’.

Since we were told last year that January 27 would be the day, the rumour mill from both the Cape-dominated rugby media (who are so optimistic about Cape rugby that it sometimes feels like they live in a parallel universe), and their Gauteng-based compatriots (whose current love-affair with the Lions will die as soon as they lose two on the trot), has been in overdrive punting their particular favourites for the Springbok job.

If you did a content analysis of stories related to the Springbok vacancy, the majority of the Cape media have been saying Gert Smal, the current Ireland forwards coach, is the man for the job. Those in the Highveld have been backing Heyneke Meyer, current director of rugby at the Blue Bulls.

Rassie Erasmus? Nah. He reportedly tired of Western Province rugby politics, a politic divided between a modern business and the yarn of club presidents who, judging frankly by the stupidity they showed in refusing Saracens and Biarritz Olympique to play their Heineken Cup match at Cape Town Stadium instead of Newlands, are disconnected from the real realities of professional sport.

It was an opportunity missed, and put into sharp focus Erasmus’ departure from Newlands. How can a union seeking to be the best in the country continue to be undermined by a dinosaur style of governance? Having lived in Cape Town, passion and support from the fans is not the problem. The will is there, but the tools? A rugby dynasty it is not.

Meyer, one of the men behind the creation of the Bulls dynasty of the 2000s, is said to be the front-runner now, with Smal supposedly tied to Ireland for the foreseeable future. Meyer is certainly the most qualified candidate on paper, having guided the Bulls to multiple Super Rugby and Currie Cup titles. His thinking is reported to be far from the robust style he is known for with the Bulls, and actually one of the most forward-thinking coaches there is in world rugby.

He should be the next Springbok coach, then, since there appears to be no one else, with Smal supposedly out, Allister Coetzee, the most PR-friendly appointment considering our political reality, ruling himself out and Peter de Villiers surely having had his chance?

Which brings us to the next question: why do we have to wait until the end of January? Every other major rugby nation on earth, barring England perhaps (they have issues of their own), have settled on a candidate for the coming seasons. Why does SARU, an organisation not universally liked (though CSA and SAFA currently eclipse them in that regard), need all this time to decide?

Does it make you nervous?

Speaking of De Villiers, there are rumours swirling around that he could be appointed for a six-month interim holding job while SARU wait to get their man. Does that mean that no one actually wants the job enough to forego current commitments? It could all be smoke and mirrors, but this is South Africa, folks. Nothing is as it seems.

What Springbok rugby needs now is a fresh start, not more of the same. But by waiting, it leaves more time for mishaps, skulduggery, and Lord knows what. It is the exact type of hedged thinking that leads believers to doubt the voracity of the gospel being preached.

Will we get a fair deal, or for that matter, the truth?

In the land of the Springbok, the natives are restless, and as Thompson said, ‘be wary of anything said between the 9 to 5 hours’.