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The Proteas' high performance coach Mike Horn has revealed that he was required to provide additional support at the World Cup ahead of their semi-final against New Zealand following a change in team selection to meet apparent 'quota' requirements.
- 'No late-night instructions were given ahead of semi-finals'
A renowned explorer, Horn, who was speaking ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony in Shanghai on Wednesday, said he accepts that whatever decision was taken as his personal responsibility for not enabling them to overcome the subsequent unhappiness ahead of the match…
“It is what it is, I take it as it is. It doesn’t matter how politics or the quota influenced the players. I think I failed a bit in my job as motivator or as high performance coach in the way that I believed the Proteas could win the World Cup,” Horn was quoted as saying in Eyewitness News.
Horn confirmed that the team was indeed changed from the one that was originally selected for the game, flying in the face of what’s been publicly stated.
“My job was to basically say that, ‘listen guys now we have to give a little bit more than we gave before. We have to fill gaps and now we have to make the difference with less but give more, in a way,' ” he added.
Earlier, dismissing reports of interference in team selection ahead of the semi-final against New Zealand as ‘utter nonsense’, CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat clarified that no late-night instructions were given after the playing eleven was announced.
Responding to reports in Afrikaans daily Beeld, Lorgat denied that he had sent instructions to Proteas coach Russell Domingo at one in the morning, insisting that the coach, who is also a member of the CSA selection panel, add one more player of colour to the squad.
It was widely speculated that coloured player Vernon Philander was included in the team ahead of Kyle Abbott for the last clash.
"This is utter nonsense reporting with false allegations being made," Lorgat had said.
"There was no SMS, WhatsApp or BBM sent by me to the coach, and why would I want to do that when I know the team was confirmed and already announced to the players and team management at their usual team meeting that evening?
"Our media policy is not to respond to speculative or false media reports where unnamed sources are quoted, but in this case, due to the damage being caused to the reputation of the Proteas, CSA and individual players soon after a painful exit from the World Cup, I feel it necessary to speak out and make it clear that this report is false," added Lorgat.