It's rather odd that sport coaches of various kinds from the same country don't meet up. It can be very beneficial as top coaches can have an exchanging of ideas and opinions. Yet, despite this irregularity, that didn't stop the Springboks (rugby) coach, Rassie Erasmus, meeting up with Proteas (cricket) coach, Shukri Conrad.
South Africa’s sport has been on a hot run in recent times. Across the first three weeks of May, the Blitzboks won the SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles, South Africa won three medals at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China and Amajita – South Africa’s Under-20s — were crowned Afcon champions.
The most-acclaimed champions in the country, the Springboks, who are back-to-back Rugby World Cup winners, have led the winning charge with Rassie Erasmus in the coach’s box on both occasions.
It's no surprise then that the South Africa’s national cricket coach, Shukri Conrad, was keen on rubbing shoulders with the brains trust that pulled off the World Cup double. Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad and Cricket South Africa's High Performance management team visited the Springboks during their alignment camp on Thursday.
The national cricket team's management joined the morning sessions in a shadowing capacity as they prepare for the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia in London. Conrad was excited about the opportunity to join the World Champion Springboks for the day.
"It was very inspiring for us all, especially if you look at the history of the Springboks and what they achieved in the last two Rugby World Cups, which they won back-to-back," he said. "They are obviously doing a lot right, so we wanted to see what that is and also learn from one another."
"It's great learning from the different sporting codes, so it was not just about learning from them, it was also a case of us sharing ideas, and that was always the intention when Rassie and I first started chatting."
"It's a week before we leave for what is our biggest final ever, I'd like to think, and sitting in, listening, and chatting to some of the players and the coaches, and going through the presentations they did and noticing the common threads that go across both platforms was fantastic.
"The language is pretty much the same, and also the implementation of certain things, such as the fact that playing for the Springboks and Proteas has to be the biggest thing."
Bok coach, Rassie Erasmus, was delighted to welcome Conrad and his key personnel to the camp and said their presence served as a fine example of how South Africa's national teams could learn from one another as they all strive for success on the international stage.
"Shukri and his team have a massive assignment coming up in the ICC World Test Championship against Australia at Lords in a little under three weeks, and we hope that inviting him and his management team to our alignment camp will assist them as they put the final touches in place for the extravaganza against Australia next month," said Erasmus.
"I firmly believe in having our national coaches working together and sharing ideas, as we all have the same goal in mind - to make the country proud - so we are thrilled that they took time out of their busy schedules to spend the day with us. Hopefully, we can see a lot more collaboration between all our national coaches in the future."
Conrad added: "It was very inspiring for us all, especially if you look at the history of the Springboks and what they achieved in the last two Rugby World Cups, which they won back-to-back. They are obviously doing a lot right, so we wanted to see what that is and also learn from one other."
"It’s great learning from the different sporting codes, so it was not just about learning from them, it was also a case of us sharing ideas, and that was always the intention when Rassie and I first started chatting."
“It’s a week before we leave for what is our biggest final ever. I’d like to think, and sitting in, listening, and chatting to some of the players and the coaches, and going through the presentations they did and noticing the common threads that go across both platforms was fantastic."
“The language is pretty much the same, and also the implementation of certain things, such as the fact that playing for the Springboks and Proteas has to be the biggest thing.”
Their meeting is not a one-off thing either, with Conrad interested in sharing and gaining knowledge from South Africa’s other national sporting coaches. "I really think so. It’s something that — both Rassie and I agree — we should be spending a lot more time together as head coaches," he said.
The Proteas, since their readmission to international cricket in 1991, have underdelivered compared with expectations in the trophy department. It’s something Conrad is looking to correct when his side face Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in England from 11 June 2025.
Influence from outside your sport can be creative. Just because there might be different rules and regulations, it doen't mean that you can't take advice from the, "outside world." Advice can be given in any context. I can only hope that the advice given to Shukri Conrad will help in leading the Proteas to glory next month.