George Byron
Unless big money is spent on signing top class players it will be difficult to turn things around at EP rugby in the immediate future, Elephants coach Allister Coetzee says.
EP have found the going tough in the SA Cup so far and have yet to win a match after losing to the Falcons, Pumas and SWD Eagles in their opening matches.
If EP want to win promotion to the Currie Cup Premier Division, they have to end among the top four clubs to achieve their goal.
After a slow start to the season, the Elephants are third from bottom on the 10-team log with two points to their name.
“I know the results will kill people and I know there will be pressure,” Coetzee said.
“I can take the pressure, but one has to look at the process and you are never going to turn this thing around unless you spend big money for top players.
“It is a tough situation at the moment if you have not picked up a win, but there are small margins and gains that I can see.
“People are hungry for a winning EP team after what has gone on in Gqeberha in the past six or seven years.
“That will take time.
“What I said at the beginning of the year is that this was a three-year process.
“This is my first year of really having the players that I want.
“Resources are important and I know the EP executive have supported me with what they have and can do.
“People’s expectations [regarding the EP team] are right up there.”
Coetzee said building winning team was a process and did not happen overnight.
“It is important to understand that building a winning team does not happen in one season,” he said.
“EP need backers, but they want to see a winning team so it is a case of the chicken or the egg.
“You cannot build a winning team without the resources.
“When I talk about resources, I am not even talking about players.
“I am taking about an environment that is a high performance setup where you have your players having meals after training.
“Get them on the right diets and get them in a professional set-up.
“These are the little things that have an influence on the field.
“If it is high performance off the field, you will see results on the field.”
Coetzee said he is seeing improvement in his squad.
“We did make a step up in the scrumming department against the Eagles, but there were still one or two penalties which were one too many,” he said.
“EP were really competitive there.
“We need to go to a place where we start dominating.
“Unfortunately, it takes the start of the season to build scrum cohesion and it did not happen for us.
“You can still feel the effects of the warm-up game we missed against the Cheetahs which was called off because of our injury crisis.
“Success is not only measured on the scoreboard.
“I can see little successes in our lineout.
“EP also have something new in our artillery in our kicking game and we had the Eagles under pressure with it.
“Those are the little things for EP without having the best players available.
“We can’t play an all-out attacking game, because we are missing key players in the backline.
“I am looking at how we grow as a team,” Coetzee said.
Weekend SA Cup fixtures:
Friday: Pumas v Falcons. Saturday: Griquas v Griffons, Cheetahs v EP Elephants, Leopards v Border Bulldogs, SWD Eagles v Boland Cavaliers.
- Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
The Herald
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.