SA Rugby announce two coaching appointments, Rassie Erasmus reacts

SA Rugby have announced two coaching appointments in their rugby departments – in Sevens and in Junior Rugby.

In a statement released on Saturday, SA Rugby confirmed the promotion of Bafana Nhleko and Sandile Ngcobo who served in assistant capacities in the past.

Nhleko has been named head coach of the Junior Springboks while Ngcobo is the new head coach of the SA Rugby Sevens Academy.

SA’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said the SA Rugby is committed to developing its coaches.

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“We’re committed to ensuring there is a development pipeline for our coaches and with Bafana and Sandile, we’ve accomplished that as both have been in our systems for some time,” said Erasmus.

Nhleko has been with the Junior Springboks as an assistant coach since 2018, and he replaces Chean Roux who will be working closely with the U20 academy.

Ngcobo, on the other hand, had been working hand-in-hand with Marius Schoeman for the Sevens since his retirement in 2018.

This was soon after lifting back-to-back HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series trophies in 2017 and 2018.

His appointment as the head coach comes on the back of SA Rugby’s decision to allow Schoeman enough time to oversee the Sevens programme.

Reacting to his appointment, Nhleko expressed delight at getting this opportunity.

“Yes, it’s disappointing that we won’t have a World Champs this year, but age-group rugby is a different beast and I’m very excited to get stuck in as soon as possible,” said Nhleko.

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“I really enjoy the challenges and pleasures of working with the youngsters, especially in South Africa where we have a rich heritage of wonderful junior players,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Ngcobo wants to use this as a chance to grow and help produce quality players for the Blitzboks.

“I see this as a great opportunity to grow as a coach, to keep on working with experienced people such as Neil Powell, Renfred Dazel and Marius, and to help ensure our pipeline of untapped talent providing players for the Blitzboks runs smoothly,” said Ngcobo.