South Africa coach Allister Coetzee says he will not quit
Monday 28 November 2016 15:25, UK
Allister Coetzee says he will not quit as South Africa coach despite overseeing the worst year in the Springbok history.
South Africa lost to England, Italy and Wales in November, slipping to sixth in the World Rugby rankings in the process. It meant they finished the year with eight defeats in 12 Tests, the worst return in 125 years of Bok rugby.
However, the 53-year-old, who was appointed in April, has defied calls to quit, saying he is determined to fix the problem and see out his contract.
"I've been appointed to 2019 and I want to make sure that when I leave I do so with a firm, concrete, tangible blueprint in place for how the Springboks must be run," he said. "Sometimes things have got to go as low as they can before they can go upwards again.
"This now is a massive opportunity for SA Rugby to not only plaster over the cracks, but to clean it up.
"We've got six months until we get back together again and need to spend that time wisely, planning for how we're going to get back to the top."
Coetzee was heavily criticised after South Africa lost 27-13 to Wales in Cardiff on Saturday to end a dreadful tour of Europe, which also included a first ever defeat by Italy, and one of his predecessors Nick Mallett has suggested he is lucky to still be in the role.
"I feel dreadfully sorry for Allister because he is a decent guy but better Springboks coaches than him have been fired," Mallett said.
South Africa have not announced fixtures for 2017 yet but are expected to host France for three Tests in June before playing in the Rugby Championship from August to October and ending the year again on tour in Britain.
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