After struggling with their opening season at the helm of the national side, the Bok management have been heavily criticised – especially the coaching staff of Mzwandile Stick and Chean Roux for their roles in the Bok set-up, with coach Allister Coetzee coming in for a lot of flack as well.
It is understandable given their results, scraping home to a test series win over Ireland, a last minute win in Nelspruit before losses in Salta, Brisbane and Christchurch and with a public looking for progress and results, the Bok management are very much under pressure going into Saturday’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld.
This week forwards coach Matt Proudfoot staunchly defended his coaching team, and revealed that they are harder on themselves than the public will ever be, showing how the management team are handling the pressure that comes with their jobs as guardians of the Springbok brand.
Proudfoot said while there was a lot of criticism in both the media and on social media, the Bok management team are “harsh” on each other and speak “honestly” about things that go right and wrong during the games they coach.
“We as a coaching staff, we look at ourselves really harshly. When we have a coaching meeting we close the door. Allister has created an environment where honesty prevails,” Proudfoot said.
“If Johan (van Graan) feels I’ve overstepped the mark or done something wrong, he has the license to say ‘Matt I need better from you’. I’m just speaking about my department, because that is the only thing I can speak of. I will respond to that.
“What goes into the press or the blog pages, that has to be there. People are passionate about rugby in this country and we feel that responsibility. It is good we feel that responsibility because else we don’t care about this game or the Springbok brand in South Africa.”
Proudfoot also channelled a bit of karma in explaining the way the Boks handle criticism within the camp.
