As we approach the 2016 edition of Super Rugby, we take a look at the South African Super Rugby coaches.
There has been a significant cleanout of South African Super Rugby coaches, with only Johan Ackerman and Gary Gold having any Super Rugby experience, so how quickly this new generation of inexperienced head coaches adapts to the toughest franchise/club competition in the world will be the litmus test of their abilities.
Vodacom Bulls:
Head Coach: Nollis Marais – Marais has been on a roller coaster ride over the last eight months. At the time it became evident that incumbent Frans Ludeke would not have his contract renewed, Marais was coaching the Bulls Under 20 team. He was appointed to replace Pine Pienaar as the Bulls Currie Cup coach in 2015 and soon after it was announced that he would also take over the reigns as their Super Rugby coach. It will be very interesting to see how Marais handles being fast tracked into the Southern Hemisphere’s premier franchise competition. He does not offer the typical conservative Bulls style of coaching, so how his philosophy is ultimately accepted by the Bulls hierarchy and players is up for debate, especially if they start the competition slowly. Something Marias is known for is not selecting players based on reputation, so lack of form will not be accepted as it has been in the recent past.
Forwards: Anton Leonard – Leonard is a long-time favourite at Loftus, having played for the Bulls for many years. This is a new appointment and the 2016 season will be his first as the forwards coach of the Bulls.
Backs: David Manuel – Known as an explosive runner in his playing days, Manuel will have an important role to play in developing a very young Bulls backline, who appear to have been given more licence to run with the ball.
Scrum and Breakdown Coach: Gary Botha – Botha also spent most of his playing years at the Bulls, with brief sojourns at Harlequins and Toulouse. The Bulls scrum has been struggling over the last few seasons and Botha’s intervention might be a timely one. His expertise as a breakdown coach is not proven though and this may come back to haunt the Bulls. They are not known for their use of a true open-side flanker as they prefer a linking type of open-sider and what Botha has to offer at the breakdown to protect or turn over possession is unknown.
Defence Coach: Pine Pienaar – This appointment is also a little unusual. Pienaar was the Bulls Currie Cup coach in 2015 and being appointed as the Super Rugby defensive coach after being side-lined as a head coach just doesn’t seem to fit in, especially as his earlier coaching career was also as a head coach at age group level.
Summary: A very young coaching team who will want to prove themselves. Some appointments are not convincing and we hope to be proven wrong.
DHL Stormers:
Head Coach: Robbie Fleck – After the loss of newly appointed coach Eddie Jones to the England job, the appointment of Fleck, for one year only, came as a bit of a surprise. Director of Rugby, Gert Smal, publicly stated that he was looking for an experienced coach with both International as well as Super Rugby level success. The job description appeared to be written for John Mitchell, so the appointment of Fleck, who had a single yet successful season as the Western Province under 20’s coach was a bolter.
Forwards Coach: Russell Winter – Winter was recruited from the Lions, where he was their under 20’s coach. We cannot find much fault with this appointment except for the fact that he is in support of an untested Head Coach at this level.
Defence Coach: Paul Treu – We also cannot question Treu’s continuation as the Stormers defence coach. This has been their strong point for many years and he has maintained this tradition. His record with the Blitsboks is beyond reproach.
Kicking Coach: Vlok Cilliers – Cilliers has been around the Stormers for a while and his record as a player and a coach speaks for itself.
Summary: The leadership group of this coaching team is very inexperienced at Super Rugby level and this is echoed by the fact that they are only contracted for one year. What Fleck will bring to the table is largely unknown, which is a rather large risk by the Stormers given the playing resources they have at their disposal and they would be expecting a successful Super Rugby season in 2016.
Cell C Sharks:
Head Coach: Gary Gold – Nomadic is probably one of the best terms to describe Gold’s coaching career, having been a Forwards Coach at Western Province and London Irish, a Springbok Assistant Coach and Head Coach of London Irish, Northampton Falcons, Bath, Kobelco Steelers and now the Sharks. The Sharks indifferent 2015 Super Rugby campaign was a disappointment to all Sharks fans, with Gold the centre of attention. To be fair on him, he only arrived from Japan two weeks before the start of the competition, which is completely inadequate in terms of preparation, so the 2016 season will give Gold the opportunity to win doubting fans over.
Defence Coach: Omar Mouneimne – Mouneimne is a defensive guru and campaigned successfully in Europe and more recently with the Kings in their 2013 Super Ruby season, as well as with the ever improving Pumas.
Forwards Coach: Ryan Strudwick – Strudwick first cut his teeth as a player for the Sharks, before playing for both London Irish and London Harlequins over a nine year period. As a coach, he started off as Director of Rugby at Maritzburg College. He then had stints with the Sharks age group teams, before being appointed as their Forwards Coach for the 2015 Currie Cup season.
Backline/Attack: Robert du Preez and Sean Everitt – Du Preez needs no introduction as a player, being the tough as nails Bulls and then Sharks scrumhalf, also having played seven matches for the Springboks. As a coach, Du Preez started at Durban club side College Rovers. He then moved to Potchefstroom to coach the local university team, the Pukke, as well as the Currie Cup First Division team, the Leopards. Everitt has a long history as a coach even if he is not as well-known as his peers. He was an Assistant Coach at the Cheetahs in 2008 when they won the Currie Cup, as well as at the Sharks age group teams between 2009 and 2012. Since then, he has been the Backline and Attack Coach for both the Sharks Super Rugby and Currie Cup teams.
Summary: Gold needs to reassert his credentials as a top flight coach and he has surrounded himself with a quality back up team. This coaching setup should be able to move the Sharks forward despite losing a raft of senior players to Europe.
Toyota Free State Cheetahs:
Head Coach: Franco Smith – After a long playing career, Smith started off as the backline coach of the Free State Cheetahs. His next assignment was as Head Coach of Treviso in Italy. He returned to South Africa as Head Coach of the Shimlas (University of Free Sate). In 2015, he was appointed as the Cheetahs Head Coach for the Currie Cup, but only a few days later was announced as their Super Rugby coach as well after Naka Drotske announced his retirement.
Assistant/Forwards coach: Corniel van Zyl – Van Zyl has a rich experience in playing and was part of the Italian squad at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Scrum coach: Daan Human – Human has a wealth of experience, playing for the Springboks, the Stormers and Toulouse. The Cheetahs won’t lack for experience here and old faithful Os du Randt is only a call away.
Defence coach: Charl Strydom –Strydom is one of the quieter guys in South African rugby and is not known in the public eye. He was previously the Cheetahs Technical Analyst.
Summary: The Cheetahs coaching staff is strong when it comes to the forwards. Their weakness last year was in defence. They have enjoyed attacking, but in most instances have been outscored, so the balance has been out of kilter. With more time at the helm, the Cheetahs will be hoping the Smith begins to address this.
Emirates Lions:
Head Coach: Johan Ackerman – Ackerman has been the South African coach that has most embraced the high tempo game that the New Zealand teams have adopted. He grew a group of relatively unknown players in to a squad capable of winning the Currie Cup and were surprisingly successful in the 2015 edition of Super Rugby. A shot at the Springbok is surely not out of the realms of possibility in the future.
Assistant Coach: Swys De Bruin – De Bruin is a coach much loved and respected by the players. He has been Ackerman’s right hand man from the start of his tenure as Lions coach and is seen as the ice to counter Ackerman’s fire. He held a contract to coach the Southern Kings in Super Rugby in 2016, an offer which he declined after much deliberation.
Summary: The Lions possess the most compact coaching squad in the South African Super Rugby setup, with most roles being vested in Ackerman and De Bruin. This has worked for them during their rise from the doldrums of 2013 and given the attractive brand that the Lions currently dish up every weekend, long may it continue.
Southern Kings:
Head Coach Deon Davids: Much has been said of the appointment of the unheralded Davids to a Head Coach role in Super Rugby. This is not entirely accurate as he has been around the coaching scene for a while without getting the same opportunities as coaches associated with larger unions. A brief look at his CV reveals coaching stints with: SA Students, Boland Cavaliers as a backline coach as well as their Vodacom Cup coach, Assistant Coach with the Baby Boks, time at the Lions as Vodacom Cup and under 21 coach and then as the South Western District Eagles Academy Head Coach, Director of Rugby and also their Currie Cup coach for 2016.
Backs coach: Mzwandile Stick: This could possibly be seen as a left field appointment, but also an inspired one. He was an assistant coach of the Eastern Province under 21 team and coached their under 19 team to their very first age group title. He also doubled as the Eastern Province Vodacom Cup coach in 2015. However, as a former Blitzbokke player and captain he may add something most are not expecting.
Forwards coach: Barend Pieterse: Pieterse moved around a fair amount during his career, starting with the Lions, then moving on to the Cheetahs and finally the Kings. He also played a mid-week game for the Springboks against the Barbarians. At the end of his playing career, he doubled up as the Kings lineout coach in their 2013 participation in Super Rugby.
Summary: This is also a very young and inexperienced coaching group at this level. They do have the backup of the South African Rugby Unions “mobi-unit” to assist them in trying to make their squad of what is effectively second-tier players competitive in such an incredibly tough tournament. The likes of former Springbok Rassie Erasmus and former French international Pieter de Villiers may have their hands full if things start going pear-shaped at the Kings.
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