Cardiff Coach Van Zyl Marching to Pretoria

From a fruit farm in the eastern Free State to the Arms Park via an Italian adventure, it’s been some journey for Corniel van Zyl.

Now it’s all come full circle as he takes his Cardiff Rugby team to Pretoria, the city where his rugby career really took off.

As well as the South African administrative capital, he also played in Witbank and Bloemfontein, working under no less a coaching trio than Rassie Erasmus, Jacques Nienaber and Franco Smith while at the Cheetahs.

On top of that, there was a long stay in Italy with Benetton, which culminated in the 6ft 7ins second row representing the Azzurri on the international stage, while there were spells in England at Rotherham, London Irish and Ealing.

Now his sporting path has brought him to Wales. Arriving at Cardiff as forwards coach in the summer of 2024, he stepped up to the hot seat just before the start of this season following Matt Sherratt’s departure and he has guided the team to 10 wins from 16 games in all competitions.

As a result, they lie fifth in the Vodacom URC table as they head into Friday’s game against the Vodacom Bulls at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld, with a trip to Durban to take on the Hollywoodbets Sharks to follow next week.

The 47-year-old Van Zyl readily admits he is proud to be at the helm as he heads back to the land he calls home.

He was born in Nelspruit in the north east of South Africa, but moved at a young age and grew up on a farm in Fouriesburg in the eastern Free State, which remains the family base to this day.

“We had a mixed farm, with fruit like cherries, apples, peaches and apricots, as well as harvesting maize, wheat and sunflower. We also had animals – cattle and sheep,” he says.

“It was very much an outdoor life. I was heavily involved on the farm. I just loved it, working with the animals and on the fruit, just normal farming stuff. Then, later on, I got my licence to drive the truck to market and back.

“My parents still live there. That is the family home.”

After going to school down the road in Ficksburg, Van Zyl went on to study electronic engineering at the University of Pretoria, which is where he really began to make his mark on the rugby front with the ‘Tukkies’ college team.

“I just started playing at university for the fun of the game, but that ignited my fire and then I excelled from there,” he recalls.

“I became captain, we won the inter-varsity league and then the Pumas needed a lock and called me.”

After combining the last couple of years of his studies with playing for the Witbank-based Pumas in the Currie Cup, Van Zyl then made his first move abroad by joining Rotherham.

“Within a week of finishing my degree, I flew over to England,” he says.

“Rotherham had a new South African coach and he brought over five players from South Africa. We all stayed together in the same house.

“It was a real culture shock for me. I couldn’t understand English very well and I certainly couldn’t understand the Yorkshire accent!

“I had gone to a double medium school and I was in the Afrikaans side. So, unless it was an English class, I didn’t hear English and I never spoke it.

“Even at University, all the classes were in Afrikaans.

“So, when I arrived in Rotherham, I couldn’t understand a word. I kept on having to ask people to repeat themselves. Then I gave up!

“To this day, I think in Afrikaans and translate into English in my head. I do it all the time. That’s why I talk wrong, with my tenses and grammar and stuff. It’s always not correct.”

After six months in Yorkshire, Van Zyl headed back to South Africa, firstly rejoining the Pumas and then moving on to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

Playing under Rassie Erasmus, Franco Smith, Jacques Nienaber and Naka Drotske, he shared in Currie Cup title triumphs, while also figuring in Super Rugby, before reuniting with Smith at Benetton Treviso in 2007.

“My wife and I went for two years originally,” he said.

“Then came the thing about me potentially qualifying for Italy, so we ended up staying for eight seasons.”

Van Zyl was to win eight caps in the Azzurri second row, going to the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, while making more than 150 appearances for Benetton, taking on a player-coach role, focusing on lineout and maul.

After hanging up his boots in 2015, he was once again reunited with Smith when he headed home to work alongside him as forwards coach at the Cheetahs. He cites the current Glasgow boss as a major influence.

“Franco has been massive in my career. I learned a huge amount from him. He is a great mentor. We still speak often,” he said.

Following six years with the Cheetahs, Van Zyl headed to England for coaching spells at London Irish and Ealing Trailfinders before making the move to Cardiff.

Along with his wife and their three daughters – aged two, 11 and 13 – he has made a home from home in the Welsh capital.

“The kids like it and the people are great here,” he says.

“You can walk past somebody you don’t know in the street and you can actually have a connection.

“It feels more like South Africa. People are humble – down to earth and grounded – and there’s definitely a commonality to back home.”

As for the coaching style he has brought to the Arms Park, he says: “In general, I think I am very relaxed, but then you know when the time is right to raise your voice and speak honestly with the players.

“With games, you plan and you find a way of winning. If the players execute the plan, you don’t need to say anything. But if they go off script, then it’s probably where you need to raise your voice a bit.

“The game has changed a lot in the last ten years. It’s all the micro stuff, the detail, that has become crucial. It’s all about the small things that count. Yes, the bigger things you need to get right, but the small things make the difference when it comes to winning a moment in a game. That detail is very important to me.”

Now, with that detailed planning done, he has returned to South Africa on tour with Cardiff for Vodacom URC games against the Bulls and the Sharks.

“I always see it as home, my home country,” he says.

“It’s a proud moment for me to be able to go back to where it all started, with Tukkies in Pretoria, just to see how I have grown and found a way.

“It’s something I am looking forward to. I have got loads of good memories of both Loftus and Kings Park.

“We are going to back ourselves and try to put in good performances and see what happens.”