Brendan Venter, who will facilitate this week’s SA Rugby coaching indaba, has acknowledged that the decline in Springbok rugby has been devastating to witness and that there is ‘no quick fix for the problem’.

The indaba will take place in Cape Town on Wednesday and Thursday this week, with various stakeholders in the game meeting to address the problems besetting South African rugby.

In his column for Vodacom Rugby, Venter highlighted a number of issues that have contributed to the Springboks’ struggles this year.

‘After their worst-ever defeat to the All Blacks on home turf, the Springboks have reached a tipping point. I believe all those associated with Springbok rugby need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask themselves: Are we a second-tier side or do we want to compete with the best in the world?

‘If ever South African rugby needed an overhaul in everything that it’s doing, now is the time because it appears as though we are falling further and further behind our rivals on the international stage.

‘The two-day national coaches indaba, set for next week, comes at the correct time and we can argue that many different components have played a role to create the present scenario that SA rugby finds itself in.

‘The mass player exodus, brain drain of top-level coaches owing to the exchange rate, transformation imperatives and boardroom battles, have all contributed to the current malaise. In my opinion, our decline has been devastating to witness and there is no quick fix for the problem.’