The Springboks are not in a hurry to replace departing coach Jacques Nienaber, and a well-known figure will take over in his place.
The Springboks team huddled together. Image sourced from the SA Rugby webpage.
It was announced earlier this year that Jacques Nienaber, the head coach of the Springboks, will leave his position after the 2023 World Cup in order to join Leinster in Ireland.
Nienaber gave personal explanations for his decision, but he insisted that his main objective for the year was to give it his all in the Springboks’ defense of their Rugby World Cup championship. On Saturday night, that objective was accomplished rather splendidly.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of attention has focused on those who might succeed Nienaber. Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is reportedly going to be crucial in helping SA Rugby decide who should be named head coach.
Acting CEO of SA Rugby Rian Oberholzer declared before to the start of the Test season that “we will be led by the director of rugby (Erasmus).” Jacques was chosen from within [SA Rugby’s] organizational structures because of succession planning. In our opinion, moving forward in this manner is the right one.
Additionally, it is already established that SA Rugby would not be hastily scheduling an appointment and will not be considering hiring a coach from abroad.
According to the most recent rumors, SA Rugby is allegedly content to allow Rassie Erasmus to serve as the Springbok head coach in the interim.
Reports on Sunday state that SA Rugby is content to let Erasmus take the helm until a decision is reached, and that they do not currently have any intentions to publicize the position of head coach.
A SECOND NEW COACH FOR SPRINGBOKS
Nienaber is expected to step down as defense coach in the near future, and Duane Vermeulen is apparently being considered to take his place.
In light of everything said above, SA Rugby earlier declared that Head of Athletic Performance Andy Edwards and three current Springbok assistant coaches, Mzwandile Stick, Deon Davids, and Daan Human, had all signed four-year contract extensions. They will stay with the squad as a result until the end of the Australian Rugby World Cup in 2027.
The two most experienced assistant coaches in the setup, Stick and Davids, are the clear front-runners to succeed Nienaber, and it has previously been said that the Springboks will almost certainly promote from within.
If SA Rugby chooses to post the job, they might get some interesting applicants, but it seems less probable that a “outsider” will be hired because they would undoubtedly want to bring in their own
