Difficult job keeps Theron 'smiling'
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:02
'It's not easy, but we're not out of it'. (c) Gallo
Dawie Theron, once a Springbok prop, a man who stands broad, head up and fearless, is now the coach of Griquas' Currie Cup team, a job full of expectations and fraught with difficulties.
The Men from Kimberley just missed out on qualifying for last year's Currie Cup semifinals - losing out to neighbours, the Cheetahs, and they remain as determined as ever to sneak into the Top Four this season.
Theron, in conversation with rugby365.com, says: "We don't have even a fifth of the budget of the big unions for our team in the Currie Cup, but we are still expected to make semifinals.
"That means I try to raise money, which is time-consuming and stressful.
"At present we are not sustainable but if we can make it through the next two or three months we should be all right."
Problems are exacerbated by injuries. Theron says: "At the moment we have seven forwards out of our pack through injuries."
Even for a big-budget union that is tough.
At the moment Griquas are sixth on the log where they need to be at least fourth - to qualify for the semifinals - but there is still not much in it as only four points separate five sides, and there is what could have been.
Ahead of them are the Lions on 25 points, with the Blue Bulls, the Cheetahs and Western Province all on 28 points and the Sharks, comfortably in first place on the standings with 36 points.
"We lost to the Blue Bulls at Loftus on one kick.
"In Bloemfontein, the Cheetahs got two intercept tries and we lost by seven points. It was closer than people think in Durban when we scored four tries against the Sharks, and here on Saturday [against the Cheetahs] we gave away two intercept tries and lost by five points.
"If things had been slightly different we'd now be on 33 points and in second position on the log. It's hard to lose when you should have won."
Griquas are now at a crossroads and Saturday's match in Johannesburg is a make-or-break situation for both sides - the Golden Lions against Griqualand West, the Lions just one point above Griquas but the form team in the Currie Cup at present - especially after their victory over WP this past Friday.
"It's not easy, but we're not out of it. If we win on Saturday, we become the dark horses.
"This first sprint is important. If we win this one, we can take it game for game after that."
Speaking of John Mitchell, the new coach of the Lions, Theron says: "I have great respect for him and what he is doing with the Lions. He will up their performance and the way they look at the game."
Coaching is tense, as any coach knows. Theron says: "It is all-consuming. It takes your life."
Living in Kimberley - as Theron admits - has its financial drawbacks in raising money, but he finds it an easy city - so easy to get from place to place.
"I can go to practice in the morning and be home at 12 to play with my daughter. You have lots of quality time in Kimberley." And his three-year-old daughter is the light of his life.
By Paul Dobson
Contact Us | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Advertising
