Dave Wessels, the former coach of Vodacom Super Rugby teams, the Western Force and Melbourne Rebels, has been appointed to a new role of General Manager for High Performance Rugby at SA Rugby.
Wessels, 41, who is currently the head of rugby at the DHL Stormers/Western Province, takes up his new post immediately.
The appointment continues the repurposing of the rugby department of SA Rugby, which began with the appointment of Rassie Erasmus as head coach and the mothballing of the role of director of rugby.
Simultaneously, the role of GM: Rugby has been discontinued and the incumbent, Charles Wessels (no relation), will focus entirely on Springbok affairs.
“We are undertaking a review of all rugby activities and ensuring the structure is best purposed to meet the needs of our national teams,” said Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby.
“These changes begin the process of providing better support for all our national teams and further changes are being considered.
“The appointment of Dave Wessels achieves two objectives – it allows Rassie and Charles Wessels to focus solely on the national team while creating a resource that can provide greater direction and support to our other national teams.
“In particular it will allow for greater emphasis on the strategic needs and future plans of our sevens, women’s and junior national teams whose requirements will now receive singular attention.”
Wessels comes with an impressive rugby pedigree since moving into coaching in 2008 after a successful career in website development and earning a masters’ degree in IT (Information Technology) from the University of Cape Town (UCT).
He first worked as a consultant with DHL Western Province/Stormers, graduating to spells as an assistant coach with UCT and the ACT Brumbies in Australia, before taking over as head coach of the Western Force (the youngest ever Super Rugby coach) and subsequently the Melbourne Rebels.
He returned to South Africa after a decade in Australia and took up the role as head of rugby at DHL Western Province/Stormers in 2022.
Wessels said: “Rassie gave me my first real job in rugby back in 2008 and I know what a good environment he runs. It’s a privilege to be part of a world-leading organisation such as SA Rugby.
“The needs of high-performance environments are always changing, and my job will be to offer support and create systems that will ensure sustained success for South Africa’s teams into the future.
“This is a big challenge, and I hope that the experiences I’ve had in various roles both here and overseas for the past decade and a half will be beneficial.
“I’m also very grateful to the DHL Stormers. It’s been wonderful to be a part of the team over the last few years and I wish the guys all the best.”
Western Province Rugby also wished departing Head of Rugby Dave Wessels all the best sating that Wessels made a big impact in his role as Head of Rugby over the last two years, setting up key structures that will ensure the future strength of Western Province Rugby.
He also played a significant role in securing the investment of the Red Disa Consortium, the new equity partners that will assume a controlling shareholding of the organisation.
DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson will step in to assume Wessels’ responsibilities in the interim, while a new structure is finalised in the coming weeks.
Dobson has been part of the coaching structures at Western Province Rugby since 2010 and has deep institutional knowledge along with an impressive coaching pedigree and track record.
Dobson thanked Wessels for his immense contribution at Western Province Rugby and said that the entire organisation will benefit from the work that he did in the years to come.
“I have worked closely with Dave over the last two years and now it is about taking his work forward, with a number of exciting developments coming soon.
“Everyone at Western Province Rugby will be better off for the work that Dave put into our junior structures and future planning over the last two years and he leaves with our best wishes for his new role,” said Dobson.
Dobson said that his new responsibilities will not change his role within the senior teams, but rather see him apply his experience and insights across a wider scope while a new management structure is defined.
“We have a settled coaching unit and that dynamic will not change as we look to build on what we have achieved together over the last few years.
“This is a very exciting time for Western Province Rugby given the investment from the Red Disa Consortium and there will be more changes and additions soon which will see us take further steps towards being a world-class rugby programme,” he added.
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