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I'm working for SA Rugby, not Twitter! - Coetzee brushes off social media backlash

South Africa coach Allister Coetzee

South Africa head coach Allister Coetzee remained defiant amid fierce criticism in the wake of Saturday’s hammering at the hands of New Zealand.

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The Springboks were blown away 57-0, conceding eight tries en route to their heaviest defeat to the All Blacks in their Rugby Championship meeting in Albany.

Coetzee, whose record as coach reads nine wins, nine defeats and a draw from 19 Tests since he took over in April 2016, has little time for any South Africa supporters calling for him to be relieved of his duties.

“Well, one loss doesn’t define this team,” he said in quotes reported by IOL. “There is still a lot of belief in this team, and still a lot of belief in myself and the plan that we are going to go forward with.

“There is a process that we are following, and you know, I couldn’t care what Twitter says – I’m working for SA Rugby, not for Twitter!

“And we are really moving in the right direction. The next step is Australia [on September 30], and we are not worried about New Zealand.

“We will get to the New Zealand week when we are playing New Zealand at Newlands.

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“This doesn’t push us back at all. In my book, it’s still a massive progression. This is the only Test we’ve lost so far [this year] – we’ve won five from seven, and drew against Australia.”

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Tom 7 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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