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Allister Coetzee found limited success with the Stormers in Super Rugby but believes he has grown enough as a coach to be considered for the Springboks job.
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Former Stormers coach and national assistant Allister Coetzee has put his hand up for the Springboks job.
The coveted position has been vacant since Heyneke Meyer resigned in the wake of a World Cup campaign that ended with a bronze medal effort in England late last year.
The appointment process has dragged on with many names thrown about.
The Springboks play Ireland in a 3-match series in June, with the new coach now expected to be confirmed in April.
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Coetzee, who now coaches the Kolbeco Steelers in Japanese club play, has finally been a candidate to express a desire for a position that has become something of a political football in the game's transformation process in the republic.
Coetzee was part of South Africa's coaching staff under Jake White from 2004 to 2007, including their World Cup success at the 2007 tournament and has been involved in the Japanese scene since steeping down from the Stormers' role at the end of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
"The only people who can decide and appoint is the South African Rugby Union, but from my side it's still one of my dreams to do that (coaching the Boks)," Coetzee, 52, told Ballz Visual Radio.
"That's why I started as a player but it wasn't to be and then I went in to coaching because the passion is still there for the game. For any coach, I suppose, that will be pinnacle of his career.
"For me nothing has changed. To be able to represent your country … it's massive.
"Especially Springbok rugby. I've had a taste of it and I'm still growing as a person.
"I've been overseas, also growing tremendously, working with other international players from New Zealand and Japanese internationals.
"So it's definitely still one of my objectives in my career."
Earlier this week former Springboks coach Nick Mallett said he wasn't interested in returning to the scene as a national selector.
The well-respected Rassie Erasmus remains a leading candidate, according to reports in South Africa