SARU Makes Key Coaching Changes

SA Rugby has confirmed key changes to the coaching line-up of its national teams in a bid to emulate the success enjoyed by the Springboks. Experienced former Springbok coaching consultant Swys de Bruin and former Springbok Sevens captain Kevin Foote have been appointed to coach the Springbok Women and Junior Springboks respectively, while Bafana Nhleko has been redeployed from the SA U20s to the senior women’s fifteens team.

Rian Oberholzer, SA Rugby’s CEO, said the changes were part of the restructuring process of SA Rugby’s High-Performance Department as they aim to achieve specific targets as part of a four-year strategic plan.

“We have obviously targeted winning the Rugby World Cup in 2027 for the Springboks, but we also have goals for other national teams,” said Oberholzer.

“We expect to see the Junior Boks winning the World Rugby U20 Championship at least once in a three-year period, for the Springbok Women to climb the world rankings to be in the top eight, and the Blitzboks to consistently medal at major events.”

De Bruin has been appointed as Performance Coach in a new-look Springbok Women coaching team, until the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England in September 2025, along with Nhleko, as well as current Springbok Women assistant coaches Franzel September and Laurian Johannes-Haupt.

Foote will return to South Africa after more than a decade of coaching in Australia, where his most recent position was as head coach of Super Rugby side the Melbourne Rebels.

The Springbok Women are currently ranked 12th in the world, the Junior Boks finished a seventh in the World Rugby U20 Championship earlier this season while the Blitzboks only qualified for the Olympics through a repechage play-off.

“We expect our national teams to deliver more consistent performances and as such, we started a restructuring process that is part of a significant overhaul of the High-Performance Department,” said Oberholzer.

“The Springboks carry the torch and do very well, but we need to see improvements from all our other national teams, including the Junior Boks, Blitzboks and women’s teams.

“As part of this drive, we appointed Dave Wessels as General Manager to oversee the process of restructuring our high-performance teams and these appointments are the first steps in the process.

“Dave joined us in March and has been working hard with all the relevant role players to see where we’ve fallen short and what we can do to ensure we provide all our national teams with what is necessary to be successful. More appointments will be made in due course.”

On De Bruin’s appointment and the redeployment of Nhleko, Oberholzer said: “We are investing in women’s rugby, not only at national level, but in the provincial structures too.

“With the forthcoming WXV 2 tournament and the participation in the Women’s Rugby World Cup next year, we are in a solid position to boost the growth of the game and with the experience and expertise Swys will bring to the coaching ranks, we can expect a boost in on-field performance as well.

“Bafana is an experienced coach and has been with us for more than six years and we feel it’s time to utilise his skills with a senior national team. We have high regard for him as a coach and conversations with him about a move to the women’s game started a while ago. He and Swys know each other well and we’re confident that, along with Laurian and Franzel, they will take our Springbok Women’s team forward.

Oberholzer added: “In feedback we received from within the local coaching ranks, a need for mentors was identified. Having been involved in top level coaching for decades, it’s something that comes naturally to Swys, and is a role he is keen to embrace and he will provide valuable guidance to Bafana, Laurian and Franzel.

“In a way, we are emulating what New Zealand did with Wayne Smith with the Black Ferns, where a key part of his job was to mentor the next generation of coaches. As a part of the restructuring process, more appointments will be made as we look to further invest in, support and develop our coaches.”

De Bruin’s last international involvement was as attack consultant with the Springboks in 2019 and before that, he earned universal respect coaching a variety of teams, including the Emirates Lions in Vodacom Super Rugby and in the Carling Currie Cup.

Foote, meanwhile, will take over the Junior Springbok reins from Nhleko, who was SA U20 head coach for the last four seasons and agreed last year to join SA Rugby’s mobi-unit. Lumumba Currie will remain as SA U20 assistant coach.

“Kevin comes highly recommended having coached at all levels of the game after he hung up his boots,” said Oberholzer.

“Having played for the Blitzboks, he knows what is at stake at international level, and he has gained experience in Australia over the last decade, with the Western Force and the Melbourne Rebels.

“The Junior Springbok programme is a crucial cog in our player development pipeline from school to the senior ranks. We firmly believe Kevin will add something to the side, with Bafana having laid the foundations over the past four years, as is testament by the number of players that have progressed to the Springbok team and those now playing in the Vodacom URC years under his tenure.”