Things could have been a lot worse during this 21-day lockdown.
You could have been Allister Coetzee or Duane Vermeulen who, among others, were stranded at an airport in Japan last week.
This, while South Africa is on lockdown.
Imagine the pain and suffering these guys had to go through while their families are in lockdown back home.
Some of us here in the Mother City already can’t take the lockdown and are starting to lose our marbles, but ladies and gentlemen relax and enjoy the time with your families.
There are many who would have given all they have just to be with their loved ones during this time.
It’s about quarter past now that I believe the guys plying their trade abroad are realising that money isn’t all that.
And that’s why I think we should create the opportunities for our top coaches and some of our top players to return home.
Allow me to use Jake White as an example.
White was named Director of Rugby at the Bulls last week.
WINNER: New Bulls boss Jake White. Picture: Supplied.
He returned to SA after a stint in Japan where he coached Toyota Verblitz.
Like Coetzee, White is an ex-Springbok coach - a World Cup-winning one at that - who has spent most of his time coaching abroad after finishing his stint as national boss.
Also like the two of them, Heyneke Meyer has not ploughed back into franchise rugby after he was replaced at the helm of Springbok rugby.
Here’s the thing: I’m hoping that White’s case is the start of something new.
I have no doubt that he is a perfect fit for the Bulls team and if anyone has the ability to turn them into a champion side again, it’s him.
What White also has is the ability to rope in players that he has worked with before. We’ve seen the scores of South Africans he lured to France where he coached Montpellier not too long ago.
If he can use that pulling power in Pretoria, we might see the return of some of our biggest stars soon.
With Coronavirus hitting everyone hard, I believe European rugby will also take a big financial hit because of it and therefore we might have a better chance of luring the likes of Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach back to the domestic game.
Anyway, back to the coaches.
Like White, Coetzee also still has a lot to offer South African rugby and I believe he also has a point to prove after being replaced by Rassie Erasmus in the build-up to last year’s World Cup.
The former Stormers and Springboks coach probably didn’t exit the national job with all his pride intact.
But of his knowledge of the game, there is no question.
Bring him back, give him the reins at, let’s say the Lions, and see what he can do.
I am all about giving youngsters a chance, but current coach Cash van Rooyen has to earn his stripes first and I don’t think he is ready to take charge of a Super Rugby franchise just yet.
Maybe SA Rugby can wheel and deal to give Toetie a director’s job at the Lions? Or even a return to the Stormers won’t be a bad idea - although I would like to see what John Dobson can do on his own.
Coetzee at the Kings won’t be a bad call either.
After all, it is his home town and we all know that the Eastern Cape is a hotbed of talent just waiting to explode.
Then there’s Meyer, another ex-Springbok coach that should be put brought back into the system.
I guess what I am trying to say is that we, as South Africans, need all the possible resources we can get our hands on.
We need all our people here, in sport and in life in general. We can’t afford to let our experienced people leave our shores.
Now is the time to realise that our social and political differences mean absolute nothing, so let’s put our pride on the backburner from now on.
PREMIUM EXPORTS: Duane Vermeulen and Heyneke Meyer. Picture: BackpagePix.
All of us born here are sons and daugthers of the South African soil, so let this be a reminder that we need to hold hands to “make it a better place”, if I can borrow a line from the late Michael Jackson.
So stay at home, wash your hands and spend some time with our Heavenly Father by doing that, you will do your bit for our beautiful country.
Be blessed and stay safe.