South Africa hope to name new coach next month

By Mark Gleeson CAPE TOWN - South Africa hope to name the new Springbok coach early next month, the South African Rugby Union said on Friday. A preferred candidate to succeed Heyneke Meyer has been identified and the recommendation will now be considered by SARU’s General Council, its president Oregan Hoskins said. Former Stormers coach Allister Coetzee is the favourite but Rassie Erasmus is also in contention, South African media reported. “The high performance committee examined a list of potential coaches and identified their preferred candidate against a set of pre-determined criteria,” Hoskins said in a statement. “In broad terms we were looking for someone with a proven track record at an elite level; someone who would embrace the objectives of our strategic transformation plan and someone who would understand the public demands of the job and what that entails." The announcement will probably come directly after the council meeting in Cape Town on April 1. In December, Meyer decided not to seek a renewal of his contract after South Africa finished third at the Rugby World Cup in October and the team returned home to stinging criticism about the style of play. The new coach will have a brief preparatory time before South Africa host Ireland in three tests in June. The Boks also compete in the Rugby Championship against Argentina, Australia and world champions New Zealand from August to October. At the end of the year, they tour Britain where they play the Barbarians, England and Wales. (Editing by Ed Osmond)