Former Springboks boss returns to South Africa as legendary flanker fills his void
Allister Coetzee during his time as Namibia head coach.
Former Springboks and Namibia boss Allister Coetzee has returned to South Africa after being appointed as the new head coach of the Eastern Province Elephants.
The 61-year-old is an experienced coach who stepped down from his position as Namibia’s head coach and director of rugby earlier this month with former Saracens and Namibia back-row Jacques Burger replacing him.
Coetzee was the Springboks head coach from 2016 to 2018 but was fired from his position after numerous poor results, including a humiliating 57-0 defeat against New Zealand in 2017.
Apart from his stint in charge of the Springboks, he also had a previous spell with Eastern Province before joining the Boks’ coaching staff as an assistant under Jake White in 2004.
Part of Springboks’ World Cup-winning coaching staff in 2007
Coetzee was part of White’s coaching staff which won the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France before joining the Stormers as a backline coach in 2008 under Rassie Erasmus and he had a stint as the Cape Town-based outfit’s head coach from 2010 to 2015.
He also coached Kobelco Steelers and Canon Eagles in Japan as well as Rovigo in Italy before taking charge of Namibia’s national team in 2021. Under his guidance, Namibia qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France but they failed to win any matches at the global showpiece.
Apart from that failure, Namibia also suffered a shock defeat to Zimbabwe in the semi-finals of the Rugby Africa Cup competition this year, after winning the tournament for seven successive years.
Coetzee replaces Dumisani Mhani as head coach of the Eastern Province Elephants and is determined to take the side back to the Currie Cup Premier Division after they lost to Boland in the final of this year’s Currie Cup First Division.
“I am really excited to be back in the Eastern Province,” Coetzee told Herald Live. “It is not going to be easy and I can’t just come in and make magic because I am not a magician.
“We have to plan well and follow a process and I’m sure EP will reap the benefits from it.
“If you look at this facility [Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium], we really should have more Test matches and see big rugby here because EP is a big union and that is what the mindset should be.
“We are really not a fly-by-night union.
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“If you want to get into the Currie Cup it is not only just the on-field field performance, but off-field matters are also important.”
Keen to improve the Eastern Province Elephants’ fortunes
Coetzee is looking forward to the challenge of improving the Eastern Province Elephants’ fortunes and feels they have the goods at their disposal to compete for honours with South Africa’s leading provincial unions.
“It is not often you get the opportunity to go full circle in your rugby career,” he said. “When you start playing and coaching rugby in a region and then you have an opportunity to come back.
“One of the reasons I am back here is that EP always used to be a Test union, played Super Rugby and were represented in the Currie Cup Premier Division.
“The rugby intellect is here with good schools and a club rugby system that is functional. If you look at Craven Week, the schools are performing and it’s just not right for this union not to be playing Currie Cup Premier Division rugby.
“That situation does not fit EP and it is my dream and mission to make sure that this province gets its rightful place back in the SA rugby landscape.”