Abu Dhabi: Heyneke Meyer’s largely unsuccessful tenure as South Africa’s rugby coach meant he was right to resign, according to former Springboks player Thinus Delport.

He told Gulf News that Golden Lions coach Johan Ackerman and his assistant Swys de Bruin would be ideal candidates to replace Meyer, who stood down on Thursday, given their success in winning South Africa’s Currie Cup this year with limited resources.

Delport, a former Springboks full-back and winger between 2000 and 2003, said Meyer had faced intense pressure to quit following indifferent recent results for the rugby powerhouse.

These included a first defeat to Argentina in the four-team Rugby Championship, in which they finished bottom, and a 34-32 humbling by Japan at the Rugby World Cup in the autumn, although the South Africans went on to finish third at the event.

“It’s not been a successful tenure under Heyneke,” said Delport, who is playing in this weekend’s Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens for the J9 Legends team who are honouring the former Springboks scrum-half and motor-neuron disease sufferer, Joost van der Westhuizen.

“It was a terrible build-up, if you take into account the November 2014 internationals [when South Africa lost to Ireland and Wales] and coming last in the Rugby Championship after a first-ever loss to Argentina and then the shock performance against Japan.”

Of potential successors to Meyer, the 40-year-old, who works as a pundit for Britain’s Sky Sports Television, added: “I do feel we have some coaches who have been very successful with limited squad depth and squad strength and they’ve been a success in Super Rugby and at Currie Cup level. Looking at guys that are available, for me I’d like to see the coaching team of the Lions given the opportunity, maybe managed by someone as a director of rugby.

“But let them get the hands-on experience in terms of the coaching. Johan Ackerman and Swys de Bruin have done some wonderful work with the Lions, not just in Currie Cup but in Super Rugby, really defying the odds and performing really better than expected.

“These guys have shown they can manage a team and build a team that can really create a culture for players to thrive on.”

Delport said Eddie Jones, the England coach, could have been in the frame to succeed Meyer.

The Australian, who was assistant coach when the Springboks won the 2007 World Cup, took the helm at South Africa’s Super Rugby franchise The Stormers last month, only for the English Rugby Football Union to buy out his contract eight days later.

“I think he would have been a natural choice to succeed Heyneke,” Delport said.

He added that former supremos Nick Mallett and 2007 World Cup-winning coach Jake White, who is in charge of Montpellier in France, should not be considered for a return given that “the game has moved on”.

“The Springbok brand has got a lot of heritage and a lot of history and we need to rekindle and get that brand back up to be feared and respected,” Delport said.

Whoever replaces Meyer, Delport believes South Africa’s future is propitious given their “beautiful” talent such as centres Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel and locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager.

“We always will have the talent, but it’s about nurturing and managing the talent. The concern for me is the amount of talent we are losing overseas.

“Unfortunately our exchange rate is not favourable to keep guys tied in.”

Do South Africa need to add variety to their often one-dimensional, forward-oriented game to compete with the world’s best two sides, world champions New Zealand and Australia?

“I think you still have to focus on your traditional strengths, and not just the Springboks. England and a lot of Northern Hemisphere sides fall into the same category.

“New Zealand and Australia have shown the way in terms of the ball-in-hand approach. South Africa has been trying before this to introduce that approach with selections like [full-back] Willie le Roux, encouraging the team to play a bit more rugby.

“Unfortunately results like the shock defeat to Japan really put the team under pressure and they reverted to type to get their confidence back.”

“You look at guys like Handrie Pollard, who has come in and De Allende, who is very dangerous on attack, the ingredients are there,” Delport added. “It’s just about nurturing that talent and giving them the confidence to go out and play the type of game that they want to play.”