A coach's job is seemingly never done. A mere 48 hours after the Tuks Under-20 team won the 2022 FNB Varsity Young Guns Tournament, Kennedy Tsimba (coach) was off to a high school rugby tournament to scout for new talent.
He is also already strategising what needs to be done for Tuks to defend Cartlon League club champions. Last year, two Tuks teams contested the final. Tsimba believes being a good coach means being innovative.
"You actually don't have a choice in modern rugby. In my playing days, there was no internet. But nowadays, young players got access to so much information. They can 'Google' how to improve basically any aspect of their game. Often before we have even left the stadium, they are on their phones watching the highlights of the game they just played. It means you, as a coach, can't trick them. The challenge is to stay one step ahead of them.
"You also got to get the buy-in of your players. That is why our first Varsity Young Guns game against UCT in Cape Town was so crucial. We were told beforehand it is the windiest stadium in the world. It is no lie. During the first half, every time a player kicked it seemed as if the ball was blown backwards.
"The players had no choice but to resort to running the ball. It worked. We scored the first try and came away with a convincing victory. To me, it was our first 'Wow' moment of the tournament. The exciting thing was that the players realised what they had been practising work, giving them confidence."
According to Tsimba, the biggest mistake any coach can make is to panic or get upset when things go wrong on the field.
"During Monday's final, there was a moment when there was a misunderstanding between two players leading to no one catching the ball. North West capitalised on the mistake and scored a try.
"Through experience, I had learned how you as a coach react when things go wrong has a considerable influence on the players. So I let it pass. During the break, I just told the players that there would be pressure moments. It is how they handle it that will impact the game's outcome.
"What I realised is that in modern rugby, a coach must have empathy with his players. You have to have a personal connection with everyone knowing their strengths and weaknesses.
"It is crucial to involve every player even if they do not play. When I arrived in Bloemfontein to play for the Cheetahs, I travelled with the team to Durban. I was not going to play, but the coach wanted me to experience what a Currie Cup semi-final is about.
"It was remarkable to watch Andre Joubert and the guys play. It made me understand what that level of rugby is about. I could not wait to get back to Bloemfontein to start training. I worked on every aspect of my game. It paid dividends; I 'exploded' onto the South Africa rugby scene.
"We did the same during our Varsity Young Guns campaign. Every time we played an away game, we took young players along. It is a way to create continuation in the team as the older players mentor the youngsters."
Tsimba is the player who was the quickest to score 1000 points in all competitions (Currie Cup, Vodacom Cup and Super Rugby). In 2012, Tsimba was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
On Monday, 25 April, in Stellenbosch, Tuks won the 2022 FNB Young Guns title with a 22-14 victory against North West Eagles in the final.
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