COACHING ABROAD
ALL THESE powerful forces apply to
coaches too. However, sheer ability may
not be enough when you are taking up
new roles. According to Phil Pretorius,
who has vast experience in South Africa,
worked with the
Tonga team in
1999 and later
embarked on
overseas stints
in Ireland, Sri
Lanka, the Cayman
Islands and the Czech Republic, you
must also “play the small politics right”.
Pretorius sounds some words of
caution about the “backstabbing” and
obtuseness coaches can encounter all
over the globe. Yet the former university
lecturer admits that while he will likely
call it quits on coaching – adding that if
he had his time again he’d have stayed
in academia – he admits it is easier
said than done. He will always have a
passion for coaching gnawing at him. So
what forced him abroad in the first place?
“There were two things,” he surmises.
“Number one, as a coach you have a
shelf life in certain places. In South
Africa there is this huge paradigm that
when you get older you are finished,
which is completely false. As you get
older, as long as you keep your passion,
you get better as a coach because you
have insight, experience and wisdom.
“In the second place, I’m one of those
adventurous guys who wanted to coach
overseas. That was a dream. I’d done
everything in South Africa bar coach the
Springboks. I’d coached SA Barbarians,
the Bulls in Super Rugby, 250 Currie
Cup games. I decided to try my luck.”
By his own admission, homesickness,
as well as some politics, eventually did
for him in some jobs. But in the few
years he spent with Galway Corinthians,
he fell in love with the club, the people,
the rugby. He says: “I became a much
better coach in Ireland, technically. It
added so many new strings to my bow.”
Sri Lanka’s Navy Sports Club gave
him another good experience, but after
three months he was keen to get home.
He would take projects in the Caribbean
and Eastern Europe but he would not
last more than a year in either role. He
is now free to enjoy family life more.
Of course, not all experiences are
equal. With Zebre, boss Michael Bradley
is well used to spending time away from
his family. With every coaching job he
has had abroad, his wife and kids have
remained in Ireland. What is that like?
He says: “Well, first of all it could be
three months (away at a time). It’s not
ideal but I think the reference point is
if the kids are happy and Gill is happy- and you pick that up on the phone or
on Skype. If that changed, that would be
a problem. Family would come first.”
Going on to talk about coaching in
foreign climes, he adds: “First and
foremost, it’s a job. The world is a small
place and I’ve worked in Edinburgh,
Tbilisi, Bucharest, now in Parma but
I could be anywhere: it doesn’t matter.
“You’re working in rugby. You’re at the
club, you have the on-pitch, off-pitch,
you have players coming in and out,
understanding the cultures and then
the ambition on the other side and
managing up and down. It’s the same
everywhere, just to different degrees.“In terms of the travel, it takes me 12
hours to get home from Parma. I can’t
get home any quicker! It took me 12
hours from Georgia as well, which is
weird but that’s just the reality.”
When he is done with Zebre, Bradley
says he would be fine travelling even
further afield if that is where the work
takes him. He likes the experiences
rugby has afforded his family so far.
He also agrees that there is a bit of a
management merry-go-round in rugby,
but there’s a reason you keep seeing
coaches like Eddie Jones and Jake
White linked with roles around the
planet. People know their qualities.
So would he recommend working
abroad to young coaches out there?
“Absolutely. There aren’t enough jobs
in Ireland (or the UK) and you won’t get
the experience. If you go straight into
(a club) you’ll be one-dimensional, until
you learn there’s a bigger world out
there. It’s a balance, though. You’ll also
need some degree of expertise.
“The right
answer is that if
you do get an
opportunity, you
go, because you’ll
learn a lot about
yourself as well.”
So often the word ‘journeyman’ is
seen as meaning less-than or tainted,
a tradesman shunted all over. But there
are also heroes who move from club
to club. There are solid and humble
pros who seek their fortunes abroad.
Some just need an opportunity.
We talk about rugby being for all
shapes and sizes. The game should be
for all the varying personality types too.
Especially those with wanderlust. nSpecial ReportZebre crossing
Michael Bradley“You will be one-dimensional until
you learn that there’s a bigger
world out there. It’s a balance”
South Africa on the Med Jake White worked with plenty of former Boks during his time in MontpellierPICS
Getty Images, Inpho & Rovigo Delta