Ken Borland

Mike Bechet is the sort of coach who makes administrators squirm but is adored by his players, for the same reason – the great producer of schoolboy talent is renowned for being straightforward and honest, and as passionate about the game as anyone.

Bechet’s fame was made at Maritzburg College, where 21 future senior internationals and 74 SA U18 caps have passed through his hands since 1982. Since 2015 he has been at Jeppe High School in Johannesburg and his impact is clear. He may be coaching the U16A team, but it is no coincidence that Jeppe have become a dominant force in South African schoolboy hockey, being the top-ranked team in both 2018 and 2019. And there have been a couple more SA Schools caps coming through his pipeline.

Among the more recent internationals Bechet coached at school are Tevin Kok, Tyson Dlungwana, Tommy Hammond, Siya Nolutshungu, Taine Paton, Peabo Lembethe and Matt Guise-Brown. Before the recent era, Proteas such as Steve and Iain Evans, Grant von Mayer, Ryan Shrives, Darren Gallagher, Charl van der Merwe and Gareth Carr all graduated under Bechet’s coaching.

And this is not to mention the impact Bechet has had on cricket in this country, as coach of the Maritzburg College 1^st XI for 572 games, he had a major hand in the development of Jonty Rhodes and David Miller, as well as one Kevin Pietersen, who played for England. He was an SA Schools and SA U19 selector from 2008 to 2020.

Bechet’s coaching approach could be described as “tough love” and the former parabat has always been more interested in the character of his charges than in their skills.

“I like to pick guys who absorb information and who have good character, I value that above skill. You can teach someone skill but you can’t teach character. Things like mental attitude and a culture of no excuses play a huge role. I look for guys with big hearts, the capacity to train hard and who live a good lifestyle. I always advise my players to surround themselves with winners from whatever field.

“Basically I want to develop good people, that’s what really counts for me, and you want them to continue playing. Unbeaten seasons don’t fill me with much pride, I get more pride out of developing international and provincial players. That’s the bigger picture that I’m after. And it’s incredibly humbling to stay in touch with a lot of my former players who have made it big.

“They all come back to me and that’s the rewarding bit, to have an influence on people’s lives. I accept that I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you can handle discipline and train hard then you will flourish under me,” Bechet says.

One only has to spend five minutes on the side of a sports field with Bechet to know that it is obvious he hates losing, but he is more than willing to embrace the tough lessons that defeat can impart.

“One does actually learn a lot more from losing, especially kids,” Bechet says. “And knowledge is power and I do read a lot. Sports books like the autobiographies of people like Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Rod McQueen, Eddie Jones, they were all hard guys. My approach is certainly that you must be all-in or not at all.”

A product of Durban High School, Bechet studied at both Rhodes University and UCT. He has a BA Honours in Physical Education and an HDE and has twice been the recipient of the South African Hockey Association’s President’s Award for services to hockey, in both 2005 and 2010.

Bechet has seen all sides of the hockey realm – as a player he represented Eastern Province, Western Province and the champion Natal side, as well as being capped for the SA U21s in 1976. He has coached Natal Schools (1989) and the senior Natal side (1991-92) to interprovincial titles and was the convenor of the South African selection panel for both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Bechet has even excelled in the world of umpiring, having an SA III grading and having blown the 1987 and 1988 SA U18 IPT finals.

It was out on the park where Bechet, who considers himself a schoolmaster first and foremost, first began honing his coaching skills.

“Hockey was always my passion and being coached by people like Darryl Bestall, Alan Paton, Tony Godding and Brian Edwards, I was exposed to so much coaching wisdom. I used to pick their brains while I was playing, I was taking in information all the time I was out on the field. In July 1981 I began employment at Maritzburg College and I have always said I’m a schoolmaster not a teacher, because I teach phys ed and I coach sport,” the 65-year-old says.

Von Mayer, who has followed in Bechet’s footsteps as a schoolmaster coaching hockey, albeit further in the heart of the KZN Midlands at Michaelhouse, says it was only when he was a student that he realised the key to Bechet’s success.

“Bech really gets the best out of people because he gets you to play for something other than yourself. Often you end up playing for him.

“That’s because he brings a system and an organisation to the game, that comes from the fact he was a fine player himself. He demanded that you do things to improve your skills. When I talk to other coaches now in the different fora, they’re all like him now. So Bech has spawned a whole lot of new coaches who continue his approach”.

Mike Bechet has already had a massive impact on South African hockey, and the good news is that influence will continue through his legacy – the young men he coached now becoming mentors themselves.

It would be tempting, given their superb fightback to level the series against the West Indies at 1-1 over the weekend, to give the Proteas a general amnesty for the shortcomings in their T20 game, but with the third match looming on Tuesday night, there are a couple of areas that still need attention.

Despite not having a recognised sixth bowler, the Proteas did exceptionally well with the ball to limit the deep and explosive West Indian batting line-up to just 150 for nine on the small St George’s ground on Grenada.

Spinners George Linde and Tabraiz Shamsi were absolutely outstanding. Coming on straight after the powerplay, they bowled six overs in tandem and squeezed the home side so effectively that they collapsed from 53 for two after six overs to 76 for five at the end of the 12^th over. The combined figures of man of the match Linde (4-0-19-2) and Shamsi (4-0-16-1) were a remarkable three for 35 in eight overs.

Kagiso Rabada and the excellent Anrich Nortje, the pick of the pacemen in both matches so far, learnt quickly from the mauling in the first T20 that if you are going to bowl fast on this more typical Caribbean pitch then you have to bowl full. But Lungi Ngidi, bowling like he’s in a Test match, has really struggled, conceding 95 runs in his seven overs thus far.

A change needs to be made and white-ball specialist Sisanda Magala, who has the skills to do well on these pitches, would be a good pick. Swing bowler Beuran Hendricks and Lizaad Williams, who has shown an ability to adapt to different conditions, could also be in the running.

South Africa’s other big problem is the lack of animation shown by the batsmen in the second half of the innings. Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock have done well up front, with powerplay scores of 53 for one and then 69 without loss (the Proteas’ fourth highest score ever in the first six overs), but then the innings have fizzled out.

In the first T20, South Africa were 95 for two after 11 overs but instead of doubling their total as could reasonably have been expected, they limped to 160 for six. In the second match, their finishing was dire as they scored only 28 runs in the last five overs and lost four wickets (138-3 to 166-7).

It has not helped that the dynamic De Kock has been dismissed in the seventh over, straight after the powerplay, in both matches.

Heinrich Klaasen has really struggled for boundaries, not getting a single one in the 23 balls he has faced. Given that the Proteas need a sixth bowler, Aiden Markram could be pressed into duty in a new T20 role in the middle-order.

Wiaan Mulder and Andile Phehlukwayo are both established bowlers but choosing them would weaken the batting.

The Sharks are going to have to draw on their deepest deposits of physicality and energy for the full 80 minutes if they hope to get the better of the British and Irish Lions, according to coach Sean Everitt, which is why he named a bench with six forwards on it for their clash at Ellis Park on Wednesday night.

JJ van der Mescht and Reniel Hugo are the two locks on the bench, but it is not just brute force that the Sharks will require but also the ability to play at a high tempo.

“It’s going to be a great challenge, we learnt a lot from their game against our Lions, who probably weren’t aware what an international team can bring. They play at a high intensity, they’re always trying to speed the game up, which is something we have been working on but we are not quite there yet. We are going to have to keep up for 80 minutes, which is why we went for a 6/2 split on the bench.

“From a physicality point of view the Lions are right up there and they can vary their game – go from contestable kicks to a running game – because they have high-quality players. There’s no room for error, they give you nothing, they have incredible line-speed on defence and they put a lot of pressure on at the breakdown. We are going to need a really good team effort,” Everitt said on Monday.

Ensuring there are enough reserves in the kitty to still play high-tempo rugby in the final quarter is a challenge all South African teams are going to have to adapt to against European opposition, according to Everitt.

“In Europe there’s a big emphasis on ball-in-play time and that’s the biggest challenge from a South African point of view. Ulster and Leinster played a game recently where the ball-in-play time was 52 minutes, while in the last Currie Cup we were averaging 26-30 minutes. It’s why Rassie Erasmus stepped in with a plan to increase that. The Lions game at the weekend had 39 minutes ball-in-play.

“It’s certainly something the Sharks have been working on, we want to play at a higher intensity because it’s what we’ll need later in the year. So this game against the Lions will be a good test of how far we still have to go. We know the Lions go hard at the ball, they’re physical in the tackle and try to hold you up, so we’ve got to get to the ball quickly,” Everitt said.

But despite the daunting task ahead of them and the fact that they are playing away from their Kings Park haven, Everitt said the Sharks are as excited as puppies about taking on the Lions.

“We spoke about the opportunity to make history and if we win we will forever be in the history books as the first Sharks or Natal team to beat the British and Irish Lions. The guys are excited and have watched a lot of Northern Hemisphere rugby so they know the players and there are no false pretences of the challenge in front of us, but if we can stop their momentum and power game then we are in with a chance.

“Unfortunately we can’t play in Durban, but we’ve been in Johannesburg since Friday so our acclimatisation will be spot-on and we’ve generally done pretty well up here, we feel comfortable playing on the Highveld. Personally I remember watching the 1974 Lions playing against Border, so I have a lot of respect for the team and I’m just so glad that the game is going ahead,” Everitt said.

Sharks: Manie Libbok, Werner Kok, Jeremy Ward, Marius Louw, Thaakir Abrahams, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi (c), Thembelani Bholi, James Venter, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Khutha Mchunu, Fez Mbatha, Khwezi Mona. Bench – Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Wiehahn Herbst, JJ van der Mescht, Reniel Hugo, Dylan Richardson, Grant Williams, Anthony Volmink.

There have been a large number of players who have graduated from the Springbok Sevens side into the national 15-a-side team, but only three in the current squad preparing for the British and Irish Lions series. But loose forward Kwagga Smith and backline coach Mzwandile Stick both believe the shortened version of the game provides a great skills foundation for the major format of rugby.

Smith, Cheslin Kolbe and uncapped wing Rosko Specman are the Blitzbokke in the current squad, but there have been 60 players in total who have played for both national rugby teams. That total includes 13 World Cup winners.

“Sevens is a really good basis but you do need to learn quickly when you get to the Springboks. It’s so good to have that base when you are younger and I believe it’s a big advantage. You see someone like Rosko Specman has performed really well in XVs and now he’s doing well here in camp. He has a good mindset and is training hard. We also have Cheslin Kolbe, who is now one of the best wings in the world,” Smith said.

Stick, who has a major focus on the skills and vision of the Springbok team, played 37 events for the Blitzbokke between 2003 and 2010, and is understandably a fan of what those players can bring to the party.

“I’ve got a soft spot when it comes to Sevens players. It’s very good to see the connection between the XVs and Sevens game. You look at someone like Cheslin Kolbe coming through that system and he’s now one of the best rugby players in the world. You look at Rosko Specman and how good he was in Super Rugby.

“It’s actually good to see that the guys from the Sevens system are making it. In the past, it was always a matter of size being the reason they’re sidelined. Gone are those days now and guys are playing with a big heart. You can see how well the likes of Kolbe are really playing the game and it shows that size doesn’t matter,” Stick said recently.

Heinrich Brussow is another of those who progressed from international Sevens rugby to stardom with the Springboks and the way he pounced and swarmed all over the ball the last time the British and Irish Lions were here in 2009, it is no surprise that under the Chinese Zodiac, he was born in the Year of the Tiger (July 1986).

Smith, who played 32 events for the Blitzbokke, is hopeful of doing a similar job.

“I was watching that series in high school in Middelburg and I remember Heinrich did so well, he was one of my role-models, he performed really well in that series. I am going to try and get up to his standards, but remembering that I am my own player and have my own assets,” Smith said.

Blitzbokke who have become 15-a-side Springboks (*= World Cup winner)

Gio Aplon, Chris Badenhorst, Selborne Boome, Gerrie Britz, Warren Britz, Heinrich Brussow, Tonderai Chavhanga, Vlok Cilliers, Jannie Claassens, Bolla Conradie, Juan de Jongh, *Jean de Villiers, Gaffie du Toit, Grant Esterhuizen, Kabamba Floors, *Warrick Gelant, Hendrik Gerber, Joe Gillingham, *Bryan Habana, Cornal Hendricks, Henry Honiball, Francois Hougaard, Adrian Jacobs, Conrad Jantjes, *Andre Joubert, Ryan Kankowski, Deon Kayser, *Cheslin Kolbe, *Ruben Kruger, Ricardo Loubscher, Lionel Mapoe, Jorrie Muller, *Akona Ndungane, Dick Muir, Jongi Nokwe, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Jacques Olivier, Deon Oosthuyzen, Breyton Paulse, *Andre Pretorius, Jaco Pretorius, Kevin Putt, *Adriaan Richter, Earl Rose, Pieter Rossouw, Brent Russell, *Bob Skinstad, *Kwagga Smith, Phillip Smit, Andre Snyman, Jamba Ulengo, *Joost van der Westhuizen, Joe van Niekerk, Andre Venter, AJ Venter, Jano Vermaak, Luke Watson, Warren Whiteley, *Ashwin Willemse, *Chester Williams.