GARETH VAN ONSELEN: Allister Coetzee’s analytical wasteland
Springbok coach Allister Coetzee didn’t concede much after the Boks conceded a record 57 points against the All Blacks this weekend. Sure, there was the usual abasement — mostly about how New Zealand had outplayed his team — but really, they were indistinguishable from the kind of platitudinous sentiment typically offered up after a closer affair. There was next to zero hard analytical introspection. This really seemed to be an entirely emotional loss for the coach. They were offset by remarks such as: "I’m pleased with a couple of brilliant defensive efforts and a lot of positives that we can still take out of this game." A statement as remarkable as it was devoid of content. "It was a helluva learning curve for us and this young team has learned incredible lessons. We will look at the positives. We have two more Tests back in South Africa and hopefully we will learn from these lessons."Few phrases grate more than this idea of a "learning curve". South African rugby coaches have be...
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