Coetzee 'excited' about Lions potential
Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:09
New Golden Lions coach Hans Coetzee will face his first real test as a senior coach, when his team faces the Blue Bulls in a trans-Jukskei derby in the opening round of the Currie Cup competition.
With a host of senior players having departed, in the wake of acrimonious axing of Eugene Eloff as Lions head coach, Coetzee - with the assistance of Jake White and his World Cup-wining back-up crew - has started rebuilding a demoralised Lions team.
Senior players absent - either being on national duty, through injury or having moved elsewhere - include Jaque Fourie, Doppies la Grange, André Pretorius, Ernst Joubert, Jannes Labuschagne, Gerhard Mostert, Anton van Zyl, Heinke van der Merwe, Willie Wepener and Ethienne Reynecke.
Despite having been left with precious little time for recruitment ahead of the Currie Cup and the same limited budget that bedevilled his predecessor, Coetzee was upbeat when discussing the Lions' prospects.
"It is looking good," Coetzee told rugby365.com in an interview, adding: "Yes, we have lost quite a few players and we have lost some very experienced players. We probably lost some leadership as well, but the players who are here are the players who want to play.
"There's a group young players in the system I believe will come through strongly and few new guys we have brought in."
Coetzee admitted that he would have liked a bit more time to work with the squad and even with the assistance of Jake White's Winning Ways crew they are cramming quite heavily ahead of the Currie Cup.
"It is as good as it can be at present," he said, when asked if the Currie Cup is a good competition in which to introduce a host of youngsters.
"The ideal would have been to start in the Vodacom Cup, but you certainly can't start rebuilding in the Super 14, so the Currie Cup is probably the right place."
Coetzee, a veteran schools coach that is a close confidant of the World Cup-winning former Bok coach, White, said his team has set lofty goals for the Currie Cup.
"Obviously different people will have different goals," he told rugby365, adding: "As a coach I will have my goals, but the goals should also come from within the team.
"I do believe, as one of the big five unions, we should be competing for a top four [semifinal] spot. I would say a semifinal spot is non-negotiable."
There has been some questions raised over the Lions' initial recruitment - such as veteran journeymen like Brad Mockford, Nico Luus and Herkie Kruger.
But Coetzee is adamant that those players will add value to the team.
"Luus is one of the guys who I am very excited about," the Lions mentor said of the lock who made his first class debut eight years ago, but has only played for the Falcons.
"Yes, he is already 32 and he has played 130-odd games for the Falcons, but he will bring the experience and the grunt in the team.
"If you look at our training sessions, how he treats the younger players, talk to them and encourages them, I am really excited about the contribution a player like Luus can make to the younger players.
"You do need that experience and combine that with the youthful exuberance that comes through."
Coetzee said the loss of players like Gerhard Mostert, Jannes Labuschagne, both through injury, and Anton van Zyl, who returned to Cape Town, has left the Lions a bit thin in the second row department.
"We had a big vacuum at lock, but we are happy with what we have in terms of second row resources now."
The same applies to Kruger, a 30-year-old flyhalf who would have played over 100 first class games had he not served a two-year ban for the use of illegal substances.
"Again, it is all about the experience that he brings to the team," Coetzee said, when quizzed about the reason for signing a player who is seemingly past his sell-by date.
"We were looking for a guy that could control the game. I've worked with him previously and I'm confident he is the guy that can help us," Coetzee said, adding that he was looking for "stability" and an experience at flyhalf in what is a very important position.
Asked if he thought that the current pride of Lions would be good enough to build a platform from which to launch a successful Super 14 campaign, Coetzee said next year might be a "bit early" to expect Super 14 success.
"At the same time, it is very exciting to see how these players will progress.
"Take somebody like Louis Ludik, he has been on the scene for a while [having made his Lions debut in 2006], but he is still only 22.
"So the players I am talking about, are the guys who are in our system, they are in their early 20s and looking for that opportunity to put their hands up and show what potential they have.
"I am certainly very excited to see how these players will progress in the Currie Cup."
By Jan de Koning
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