Boks coach Coetzee not taking entire blame

Nov 21, 2016 - 10:32 PM South Africa rugby coach Allister Coetzee has refused to take all the blame for the Springboks' dreadful year.

Coetzee's first year in charge has been the team's worst in 10 years.

The Springboks have won only four of 11 rugby Tests, the latest a first and embarrassing defeat to Italy last Saturday in Florence.

Coetzee and captain Adriaan Strauss apologised for the performance.

SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said a full review, including Coetzee's future, would be undertaken after their last match of the year, on Saturday against Wales in Cardiff.

"It's been a tough year and I can take responsibility for a lot of things," Coetzee said on Monday.

"But I only got started in April and there are challenges in South African rugby that are unique to us.

"There's no excuse for the poor performance, but there are discussions happening, and it is looking really positive. This is a great opportunity to address the problems and clean out the wounds. We need to diagnose and treat the symptoms of it.

"In the 21 years since our World Cup win in 1995 we've only had four good years, and if we continue what we've been doing you're not going to see any different result."

Coetzee said he has a four-year contract to coach the Boks and was determined to ensure they perform this weekend.

"We are in a bit of a hole at the moment and the buck stops with me," he said.

"It is my responsibility to get the team out of that hole."

Source: AAP