Wynne Gray: Bold call to give new Springboks coach a four-year deal

New Springboks coach Allister Coetzee. Photo / Getty

New Springbok coach Allister Coetzee is already a winner - in theory.

He's won the promotion he coveted, he's promising to push the Springbok transformation objectives and has inked a deal through to the next World Cup.

You have to admire a bloke who has stayed deep in rugby circles and worked for Eastern and Western Provinces, the Sharks, Cats and Stormers, offshore with Kobe Steel and been as assistant to Harry Viljoen then Jake White with the Boks.

Coetzee was twice favoured to lead the Boks but lost ballots to Pieter de Villiers and Heyneke Meyer.

After an extraordinary delay, Coetzee has been promoted to the top job-an upgrade which comes with a number of conditions.

* Transformation is paramount. Coetzee has championed that cause however demands half the Springbok squad be black or coloured players by 2019, will test his selection diplomacy.

* How will he balance aims to foster domestic talent with the experience still available offshore?

* Coetzee was rebuffed in his wishes to use Robbie Fleck and Matthew Proudfoot as assistants and had others of less experience foisted on him. Mzwandile Stick has been a sevens and under 19 coach and will tutor the backs with Johann van Graan looking after the forwards.

* He has two months to get the Springbok side sorted for their three test series against Ireland.

Will Coetzee complete the George Gregan four more years coaching term? He's got a reasonable chance even with the stipulations which are perplexing to those who live outside South Africa.

His predecessors Heyneke Meyer, de Villiers and White all survived four year terms, if at times with some difficulty, which was a lot better than the men they succeeded.

Eight coaches -John Williams, Ian McIntosh, Kitch Christie, Andre Markgraaf, Carel du Plessis, Mick Mallett, Harry Viljoen and Rudolph Straeuli led the Boks in the decade after South Africa returned from isolation in 1992.

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