Rassie Erasmus says the buck stops with him when it comes to who has ultimate responsibility at the Springboks.
Director of Rugby Erasmus and the South Africa Rugby Union (Saru) president Mark Alexander on Friday announced that Jacques Nienaber will take over the reins as Bok coach from Erasmus, who will focus on his role as director.
After guiding South Africa to World Cup glory last year, Erasmus has given fans the assurance that he won’t just be leaving the team in the hands of Nienaber.
He explains: “I’ll still be responsible for the strategy and results with Jacques taking operational control.
“The structure allows the Director of Rugby to spend more time on other aspects of the role.
“Jacques is highly experienced and has worked with the Springboks on three separate occasions now, so he knows exactly what the job is about.
“Jacques will be responsible for the Test match preparation and day-to-day team operations but, as the director of rugby, I will be with the team for the majority of the time and in the coaches’ box with Jacques at matches.”
NEW ROLE: Jacques Nienaber. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix.
Of his appointment, Nienaber says: “This is a massive honour and responsibility, but I think I have a good understanding of what it entails, especially in this new structure.
“I’ve worked with Rassie in a coaching capacity for nearly two decades now and we have a very good idea of how each of us thinks and as I’ll still be reporting to him our working relationship won’t be changing.
“It’s a big step-up for me in terms of carrying the day-to-day leadership role and there’ll be other adjustments but in many ways it will also be business as usual. We’ve built up a good culture over the past two years and we’ll simply be looking to extend that.”
ROPED IN: Coach Deon Davids. Picture: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix.
Added to the Bok coaching staff are Deon Davids (forwards coach) and scrum coach Daan Human, while Mzwandile Stick (assistant coach) and Felix Jones (European-based consultant) will continue in their roles.
Bok Coaching Team
- Rassie Erasmus (Director of Rugby)
- Jacques Nienaber (Head coach)
- Mzwandile Stick (Assistant coach)
- Deon Davids (Assistant coach)