Thought initially to be a shoe in, it now appears the 29 voters who get to decide the future of the Springbok coach at a meeting of the SARU General Council on December 11 may well be divided re the future of Heyneke Meyer.
Hendrik Cronjé of the City Press reports on Sport24 that SARU will also have noted that Allister Coetzee’s Japanese club, the Kobelco Steelers, will not stand in his way should he be chosen to succeed Meyer. And that the Lions will probably not make it difficult for the other strong contender, Johan Ackermann, to move up a rung or two on the coaching ladder.
The build-up to the meeting is playing out like a political campaign, though, with several of the unions’ votes likely to be finalised at the last moment.
As part of the General Council, each of the country’s 14 unions gets 2 votes, with SARU president Oregan Hoskins holding the 29th swing vote.
A few intriguing behind the scenes meetings suggest that Meyer’s future could well be decided by the winner of a battle between the Southern and Northern unions.
It is understood that the South are keen for Meyer to go, while the North are undecided, unsure as to who would replace him.
A bail out option would be to give him another year in the role, allowing SARU the opportunity to find a suitable successor.
Speaking to Rapport, a SARU spokesperson has divulged that their executive committee would make a recommendation before allowing the general council to vote on the matter.
Meyer’s contract expires at the end of the year and, even if it had been extended before the World Cup, as is understood to be the case, that does not guarantee he will keep his job.
Only 5 of the 20 person World Cup management team – Ian Schwartz (team manager), De Jongh Borchardt (media manager), Albe Visser (video analyst), JJ Fredericks (logistics manager) and Charles Wessels (operations manager) – are permanent employees of SARU. The fate of the other 15 are thus likely to be influenced by the coaching decision.
– Sport24