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.

The return of fiery fast bowler Shannon Gabriel to the West Indies squad suggests the home side’s response to their thrashing in the first Test at St Lucia will be less of a dignified one and more ferocious in nature when the second Test begins at the same venue on Friday, and Proteas captain Dean Elgar said he is expecting nothing less.

South Africa’s only selection issue is whether batsman Temba Bavuma has recovered from his hip problem, in which case he will come in for Kyle Verreynne.

While their dismal batting was the West Indies’ biggest problem, and they have recalled the experienced Darren Bravo to try help, their bowling attack can certainly do with the venom of Gabriel, who took 13 wickets at Gros Islet against Sri Lanka in June 2018, the best ever figures at the ground.

“I know how a team tends to bounce back at home and we definitely expect that from the West Indies. We’re definitely not taking anything for granted and the West Indies will be coming back with a plan. We have one win in the bag so far, but we can’t stop now, we want another win and to make it 2-0 would be great. Just one win has already taken us so far, so imagine what two will do?” Elgar said on Thursday.

South Africa have themselves always relied on their pace bowlers to spearhead their efforts and, with tropical showers around the island of St Lucia this week, Elgar believes the Proteas attack could once again be their trumpcard.

“The bowlers led the pack in the first Test, the words clinical and ruthless spring to mind, and the pitch looks similar to that one. There’s also been a bit of rain around, so maybe the wicket will be a bit softer and it seems to have the same grass cover. That means in the third and fourth innings there could be indentations and when our big fast bowlers hit those, that’s when the ball reacts from an up-and-down point of view.

“We have a well-spoken-about plan, but we have one of the best spinners in world cricket too, Keshav Maharaj plus three fast bowlers and an all-rounder, that’s my idea of the old South African way. It was great to see them stick to the plan so well in the first Test, when maybe we’ve been searching a bit lately. We’re happy to have the same sort of pitch again and if any bowling unit is going to get something out of it, it would be ours,” Elgar said.

Proteas opener Aiden Markram said on Wednesday that a “focus on getting your job done” was a major reason for South Africa’s overwhelming success in the first Test against the West Indies at St Lucia, and it is a habit they don’t want to get out of as the second Test looms at the same venue on Friday.

South Africa beat the West Indies by an innings and 63 runs in the first Test in what was one of their best all-round performances for a long time. The bowlers were outstanding and the batsmen fought hard on a lively pitch. It was also the Proteas’ first win on away soil since beating England by 340 runs at Trent Bridge in Nottingham in July 2017, ending a run of nine straight defeats on the road.

“It’s our first away Test win in just about four years, so it was exciting and nice to be a part of. It’s been a long time coming and it will re-instil a bit of belief that we can still compete away from home. We came across a lot of foreign things we had to overcome, like a strong breeze at the ground, and at one end it was quite an uphill run for the bowlers into the wind, and they had a different ball to what they’re used to.

“But for all of us, the focus was just on getting your job done, no excuses and empty the tank. Conditions were difficult, but hopefully we can now win in foreign conditions more consistently. It’s going to be tough to better the performance in the first Test, but I’m positive there is more in us. We’ve set standards that we must now live by and operate at that standard. I’m confident we’ll put up another good fight,” Markram said.

It is often said that teams take on the personality of their captain, and there is no bigger fighter, no one more determined on the field, than new skipper Dean Elgar.

“Dean has been brilliant as captain now for the last three weeks and it’s great to have someone really experienced like him to lead us, a pretty young team. He has realigned everyone and is driving those standards that will more often than not lead to good results. It’s black or white with Dean, you always know where you’re standing and he’s the perfect man for the job at the moment,” Markram said.

The last time the Springboks were preparing for action it was all about making sure they peaked for the 2019 World Cup, and Bulls prop Trevor Nyakane said on Tuesday that the same levels of readiness are now being sought ahead of the series against the British and Irish Lions.

Although no dates have yet been set for the Lions tour, the Tests are probably not much more than three months away and the Springboks based at home will only return to action this weekend with the start of the Rainbow Cup. Which itself will be cut short if the South African franchise are not allowed overseas.

Nyakane has an added complication in that he will miss the Bulls’ opening match, against the Gauteng Lions in Pretoria on Saturday, due to a rib injury. But he played a full part in the Springbok alignment camp that was held last week.

“There hasn’t been much time for big Springbok camps but we received a lot of enlightening information so we can do what is required to prepare for the Lions series. I really enjoyed it and it was good to see the unions working with each other. We were able to see how the Springbok management want to go forward and they reminded us of what is expected.

“At the World Cup, we went in firing at our best and that’s what they’re looking for again now. They were reminding us of what we produced before, what we are capable of, and work-rate things, whether they want us to gain weight or lose weight, or be fitter. So we have to make sure we meet those standards and we know what is required to play Springbok rugby,” Nyakane said on Tuesday.

In terms of the Bulls, Nyakane said they have been working hard on giving the consumers of Bulls rugby what they want: Which is more trophies, and a dominant scrum.

“At the Bulls we are always striving to be the best and winning trophies, which we’ve done in the last few months. But those trophies are now just in the cabinet and it’s time to focus on the next one. We don’t want to just compete in the Rainbow Cup, we want to win it. Obviously there are going to be new teams that we are playing against so we’ll have to adjust to that.

“We’ve put some emphasis on our scrum but you can’t talk it right, you have to do it right and the only way to do that is with live scrums. We’re trying to sort out some little issues, so we have done a lot of scrumming and the bodies have taken a bit of heat. But we hope to see some improvement in our scrum on the field on Saturday,” Nyakane said.