Date set for appointment of Bok coach

December 2 - The Executive Council of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) has called a Special General Council meeting for January with a view to ratifying the appointment of the Springbok coach. The meeting will take place in Cape Town on January 27 and is required by the SARU constitution, which specifies that the appointment of the Springbok coach has to be approved by the General Council to become official.

The General Council will receive a recommendation from the Executive Council which will meet 24 hours earlier to finalise the selection process.

Ths process to appoint the Springbok coach has been changed from the past when individuals applied for the position and the coach was appolnted after a series of interviews. This time, SARU approached a number of identified candidates, the names of whom are unknown.

A fortnight ago, the CEO of SARU, Jurie Roux, said fhat a shortlist would be prepared by the Executive Council against identified criteria to fulfil the demanding requirements of the role. “This is the most important decision we have to make as SARU and appointing the best man for the job is critical,” said Roux then. “The skills and qualities required by a Springbok coach are confined to only a small number of potential candidates.

He then confirmed that Peter de Villiers would be on the shortlist as the incumbent Springbok coach. He said that the Exco hoped to confirm an appointment by early in the New Year.

** The Special General Council meeting will also decide on a process to identify SARU’s entrants to the Vodacom Super Rugby competition in 2013.