Coaching champions

"At 34, Heyneke Meyer was fired as head coach of a Super Rugby team for the second time. But when, in 2007, his Bulls side became the first South African team to win the Super title, the dark years at Loftus Versfeld were suddenly forgotten. Coaches, like players, are judged on the playing field, but the scoreboard never tells the full story of how they achieved success. In Meyer's case it was an arduous journey, during which he redefined professional rugby through his leadership style. And leadership is what Coach is about - people who have fundamentally changed a sport, an industry, a way of thinking and people's lives. Marco Botha sat in conversation with some of South Africa's foremost sports leaders and interprets their diverse success stories. Brendan Venter helped turn Saracens into a top club and the Sharks into the 2013 Currie Cup champions. As an international hockey player, Sherylle Calder noticed something special about her own visual abilities and researched this together with Professor Tim Noakes. The 'Eye Lady' was instrumental in England and South Africa's victories in the Rugby World Cup, and Ernie Els bagging his second British Open golf title in 2012. Former Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu advanced rugby sevens as a world sport by regularly getting his team to tower above seemingly superior sides. Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton guided the Indian national cricket team to glory with a leadership style that empowered players and developed them as human beings - the 'new school' of coaching. With the same approach they helped the Proteas become the world-number-one cricket team in all three formats of the game. These remarkable leaders have made champions out of ordinary people. The reasons for their success stories will surprise you . . . "