Coaching line-up – let’s go carefully

THE sweeping changes expected from the new-look SA rugby hierarchy are being revealed, starting with a short-list of names tabled this week for the key coaching job.

Remarkably former coach Nick Mallett is not among them, despite being the favourite among many pundits.

Of the four, Bok assistant coach Andre Markgraaff probably has the best CV, having briefly held the SA coaching job before blotting his copybook because of a racial slur. He was also very successful in raising Griquas’ game to a high level before his brief tenure as Bok coach. It says much that he has been forgiven and is once again in contention.

Heyneke Meyer’s success with the Blue Bulls in two successive Currie Cups speaks for itself and Chester Williams has proven his potential with the SA sevens side, albeit in a simplified version of rugby. The hope here would be that he can do the same for the Boks.

Dumisani Mhani of Border Bulldogs is a wild card and there is little to go by on which to gauge his suitability for one of international rugby’s most challenging jobs.

It is clear from the short-list that it contains candidates who, if chosen, place us again on a path of experimentation, trial and error, whereas what is needed is a coach who has already proven himself as a serious operator and whose credentials are beyond doubt. And, dare we say, a coach who is not necessarily a South African. What would be wrong with head-hunting a Clive Woodward or Bob Dwyer?

Since that’s clearly not going to happen, Sarfu would be wise not to lock itself into a long-term contract from which it cannot extricate itself. Rudolf Straeuli’s R2-million golden handshake makes the point. Let the next coach prove himself first.

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Pupil sex patterns an Aids minefield

A NATIONAL survey on the behavioural patterns of youth gives cause for deep concern, especially a statistic which reveals that eight per cent of nearly 11 000 respondents said they had sex forced upon them.

Whether they were pushed into intercourse because of date pressure or resisted it all the way is a mere technicality. To any parent or concerned citizen, such a statistic is nothing short of horrific.

It’s no secret that society is producing a breed of youths who have come to believe that sex with a girl is their right and they will not easily be dissuaded.

Over 40 per cent – about half of boys and a third of girls – admitted having intercourse. Without getting into the tragic lack of morality revealed by such a statistic and the indictment of parents it represents, there is the frightening issue of Aids in a country with a prevalence of over 20 per cent. The likelihood of propagating it through such loose conduct cannot be underestimated.

Only 29 per cent of respondents who are sexually active said they used condoms. Having had the benefit of education, one would hope they know they are walking through a health minefield.

As we have said before, the government’s reliance on a flimsy piece of latex to overcome the Aids problem is seriously flawed. Unless there is a bold move towards behavioural change, this country can expect to sponsor ever-increasing treatment of Aids sufferers.