Cape Town - The jobs of Springbok assistant coaches Johann van Graan and Mzwandile Stick are reportedly in jeopardy.

It’s been a torrid year for the Springboks, who lost eight of the 12 Tests they played - the most defeats ever by a South African team in a calendar year.

Several pundits are calling for head coach Allister Coetzee to be fired, but if a report in Thursday’s Cape Times is to be believed, then Coetzee will remain as head coach in 2017.

The newspaper is reporting that SA Rugby has realised it made mistakes by forcing the appointments of several of Coetzee’s backroom staff, among them Van Graan and Stick.

Upon accepting the job as head coach, Coetzee insisted on the appointment of Matt Proudfoot as forwards coach, despite Van Graan already occupying that role.

Coetzee was then forced to make do with both forwards coaches in his management team, while the Boks also went through three defence coaches this year.

Franco Smith (skills), JP Ferreira (defence) and Louis Koen (kicking) joined the Boks on their year-end tour which saw them suffer three consecutive defeats.

At SA Rugby’s general council meeting - scheduled for December 9 - it is expected that Coetzee will be told that he can choose who he wants as part of his management team in 2017.