No WP crisis, says Fleck
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:30
Robbie Fleck makes his point
Former Springbok and Western Province centre Robbie Fleck has dismissed suggestions that his old union is on the wane after the Cape Town-based team failed to qualify for the 2008 Currie Cup semifinals.
The Cape press has been abuzz with stories all week long that senior provincial coach Rassie Erasmus and Currie Cup head coach Allister Coetzee were under pressure after yet another trophyless season in the Mother City.
WP have won 32 Currie Cup titles - more than any other province in South Africa - but they have not tasted success since 2001, when Fleck was part of Corné Krige's side that claimed successive titles in 2000 and '01.
There have been just three semifinals since that 2001 triumph, with the Stormers - who are basically WP in disguise - qualifying for the Super Rugby play-offs in 2004.
"WP have had their lean years," said Fleck to rugby365.com.
"They're in a rebuilding process at the moment... Sure, some of the administrators at the union could do with a shake up, but on the playing side in the professional set-up, Rassie Erasmus has got things spot on and they have certainly turned the corner.
"Yes, Western Province are a proud union and one that should not be happy with mediocrity, but rebuilding a side doesn't just happen overnight."
Fleck believes that in Erasmus, WP have "the best Director of Rugby in country", pointing to the former Free Stater's determination to build a strong foundation, starting with the union's young players.
"I was lucky to be part of a talented WP Under-21 squad in 1995, with the likes of Hottie Louw, Corné Krige, Bob Skinstad, Selborne Boome, Breyton Paulse and Percy Montgomery, and the union contracted about three-quarters of that squad," said the former Springbok centre.
"Some of those guys were part of the '97 Currie Cup triumph, but as a unit we then went on to make the Super 12 semifinals in '99 and we also went on to win the Currie Cup in 2000 and 2001.
"With that in mind, Rassie is determined to bring the young guys through and he gave Allister Coetzee a directive to blood some youngsters in the 2008 Currie Cup - it's all part of the bigger picture.
"As I said, you don't build a whole new team overnight, but yet this new side came very close to making the Currie Cup play-offs, despite being without a lot of Springboks at one stage - which is something you can't plan for. However, when the Boks came back, they got 23 out of 25 possible points and who knows what could've happened had they made it into the semifinals.
"I thought Jean de Villiers made a good point at the weekend when he referred to the 'full-strength' Stormers/WP team. That side's last loss, with all their best players available, came against the Blues in the Super 14 in March. Looking at that Super 14 team [that nearly made the semfinals], the only real big stars are Jean and Schalk Burger, who along with Ricky Januarie, are the only World Cup-winning Boks in their team.
"I think some people are simply trying nit-pick at the moment, this current team can only get better and I have no doubt they will be one of the teams to beat in the Super 14 and the Currie Cup next year."
But back to the present, and the Currie Cup semifinals, with the Sharks, the Blue Bulls, the Cheetahs and the Lions fighting it out for bragging rights in SA, with Fleck telling rugby365: "The Sharks and the Bulls have had academies for a while now, WP have started their academy only fairly recently.
"The Sharks are looking very good in terms of potential Currie Cup winners, but they have not won the Currie Cup since 1996, whilst the Bulls won just two titles in the 1990s before winning in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
"All unions have their problems, and I'm not saying WP are trouble-free, but they are on the right track once again, especially under Rassie, starting with recruitment and rebuilding and then with their results."
