Jacques Nienaber new head coach of the Boks

By Guillaume Mahot 

The mission promises to be arduous. Freshly world champions and winners of the last rugby championship, the Springboks decided to get a new coach to guide them towards the next deadlines of 2020. Former head coach Rassie Erasmus, world champion in the last 2019 Japan Rugby World Cup, is then passing on the torch to his long-lasting assistant (and friend) Jacques Nienaber. Rassie Erasmus had been running the South African national rugby team since 2018.

It is the first time that Jacques Nienaber has been a head coach in his life, but he can be proud of a twenty-year collaboration with Rassie Erasmus that brought him the experience and knowledge he will need for his new task. As an assistant, Jacques Nienaber is used to the machinery of professional rugby and he already showed he could hold pressure in a difficult environment since he managed the defense of the Springboks in the last world tournament. It was an aspect that revealed to be of paramount importance in the final phase where South Africa impressed by their fierce defense and the hard contacts and impacts they gave away to prevent their opponents from crossing the try line. England can testify.

If Rassie Erasmus is no longer the head coach of the Boks, he will not be that far though. The former player & coach has been appointed rugby manager of South Africa and he will actually supervise the work of his former assistant. Trust prevails of course, but the mission of a head coach is quite different from the one of an assistant, mostly regarding players, and how to manage them. The two friends will remain close to each other and it will be the opportunity for Nienaber to look for some advice if needed, before he can eventually stand on his own two feet.

Africa Global News Publication