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'The fish does rot at the head': Ex-Springboks weigh in on All Blacks 'turmoil'
By Sam Smith
Former Springbok Robbie Kempson and former Springbok assistant coach Swys de Bruin have weighed in on the All Blacks situation following their defeat to South Africa in the first of two tests.
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The two South African pundits gave a blunt assessment of the All Blacks’ coaching situation on SuperSport’s Final Whistle show, with Kempson calling it ‘turmoil’ that is obvious for an outsider to see.
“They are in turmoil,” Kempson said matter of factly on SuperSport’s Final Whistle.
“Whether they say it or not, there is something amiss as we have had in the past in our national setup. You can see when something is not quite sticking right.
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“Whether it is the coach, whether it is Sam Cane, who would be unfair to blame.
“Most countries get rid of the head coach and then worry about what’s underneath and whether they can shift things around.”
In the wake of the Ireland series loss, Foster’s two assistants Brad Mooar and John Plumtree were sacked making the way for Crusaders’ forwards coach Jason Ryan to take over the forwards.
The appointment of Ryan saw an immediate improvement in the All Blacks’ maul defence with the visitors stopping the Springboks from scoring any tries from it at Mbombela Stadium.
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“I do think Jason Ryan is an impeccable coach. He is a great addition to them. A positive for him is they did stop our driving mauls,” Kempson said.
“They were on the back foot on our scrums, they were always going to be with amount of talent that we have.
“But I think if you look at their attack, it was absolutely nowhere.”
Kempson went on to predict that New Zealand Rugby would make a swift move once the team arrived home with a replacement already in place behind the scenes to pick up the pieces and see out the remainder of The Rugby Championship.
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“I think it is going to come sooner than you think, well, the fish does rot at the head and he’s got to go, but who do they bring in?”
“I think we are at that stage already, everything is in place for when they get back home there is going to be a significant change, regardless of what happens at Ellis Park.”
Former Springboks assistant and Lions coach Swys de Bruin said he would have kept Plumtree on and hinted that they are expecting Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson to take over.
Robertson coached the Crusaders to two Super Rugby titles over De Bruin’s Lions, the first of which was against the odds at Ellis Park over a strong Lions side.
“I think there is more going on behind the scenes, you listen to Hansen and what he had to say,” De Bruin said.
“Just to pay out Foster is millions, that for me is big problem at this stage, now you can’t make changes.
“I would have kept Plum [John Plumtree], he knows this field, he knows the system, he knows what to do.
“Their defence for me is really in no man’s land. Speaking of Plum, who was in charge of that. Are they rushing out or are they waiting?
“Foster did say they tackled well afterwards, which they did, but not very good.
“All-in-all it is a bigger problem than you think, but in saying that, Scott Robertson is the guy on form. I’ve coached against him.
“I think we might get a surprise with him in two or three weeks time.”
Am a springbok supporter and always. It's not your coach. Its your structure. This crusadres vs blues is not rugger. When SA exited apartheid we got smashed. Why same sides playing same sides playing same rugby. Wake up Kirwan etc. Let your players go overseas and make money and learn skills. You are stuck in a non professional mindset. Rugby must become like soccer. If you don't you can kiss the all blacks goodbye. Wake up. The reason why boks win is because our players experience all rugby. Plus the URC will just make IR and Wales etc stronger as they learn to beat us. Pls Wake up. We need you.
De Bruin et al are clearly not aware of all the facts when they say they would have kept Plumtree on.
The fact is the review after the losses Ireland / France - Plumtree got a very poor review.