Swys will bring ‘continuity and stability’
JOHANNESBURG: The appointment of Swys de Bruin as head coach of the Lions will give the players the stability they need going into the Super Rugby playoffs next week, said company chief executive Rudolf Straeuli yesterday.
The well-travelled 57-yearold De Bruin will take over from the outgoing Johan Ackermann at the end of the Super Rugby season. While they still have a round-robin match to play against the Sharks in Durban this Saturday, last year’s runners-up are already guaranteed a home quarter-final next weekend.
Ackermann will leave the Lions at the conclusion of the competition to take up a position with Gloucester in the English Premiership.
De Bruin, Ackermann’s right-hand man since 2013, has been named as head coach for the Currie Cup as well as next year’s Super Rugby competition. Several senior players have also confirmed that they will run out for the Lions in next year’s new-look 15-team Super Rugby competition.
“We believe it (the appointment of De Bruin) will bring continuity and stability within the different teams in the various competitions that we are taking part in,” said Straeuli yesterday.
“Swys is definitely going to be involved in the Currie Cup and in the 2018 Super Rugby competition, but we are still in discussions about his involvement beyond that. There is currently no timeline to his contract. What we wanted to do now with this announcement was to let the players and everyone involved with the Lions know that everything is under control.”
De Bruin, who spent his younger years coaching at the Sharks and heading up their academy before coaching Griquas between 1999 and 2003, said he was thankful for the opportunity to continue working at the Lions. “I look forward to the challenge, but for now the focus is totally on the Super Rugby campaign,” De Bruin said.
Other current members of the senior management team, like defence coach JP Ferreira and conditioning coach Ivan van Rooyen, are expected to stay on under De Bruin, but Ackermann’s departure means that the Lions will be looking for a new forwards coach at the end of the season.
While the Lions are likely to first look internally for a man to replace Ackermann, it would come as no surprise if they were to consider the likes of Balie Swart – who has helped refine the Lions scrum in recent seasons – and even Russell Winter, a former Lions player and junior coach who is currently employed at Western Province and the Stormers.
The chosen man would have to fit into the unique culture the Lions have created under Ackermann and De Bruin, and also bring something new and different to the coaching team.
Straeuli said the complete coaching team for the Currie Cup competition, which kicks off next weekend, would be finalised next week.
Meanwhile, Straeuli also announced yesterday that the majority of the current Super Rugby squad will still be available for the 2018 competition. However, what many of the players decide career-wise at the end of next season will largely depend on who gets contracted with SA Rugby until the 2019 World Cup. Lions players currently form a big chunk of the Springbok squad and are likely to be part of the plans for the tournament in Japan.
The players who are contracted to the Lions until the end of Super Rugby next year are: Warren Whiteley, Kwagga Smith, Andries Coetzee, Andries Ferreira, Anthony Volminck, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Corne Fourie, Courtnall Skosan, Cyle Brink, Dillon Smit, Dylan Smith, Elton Jantjies, Franco Mostert, Harold Vorster, Howard Mnisi, Jaco Kriel, Jaco van der Walt, Jacques van Rooyen, Johannes Jonker, Justin Ackerman, Lionel Mapoe, Lourens Erasmus, Malcolm Marx, Marvin Orie, Robbie Coetzee, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Ross Cronje, Ruan Ackermann, Ruan Combrinck, Ruan Dreyer, Shaun Reynolds, Sti Sithole and Sylvian Mahuza.
Hooker Akker van der Merwe is still in negotiations with the Lions, while injured prop Julian Redelinghuys’ contract is being evaluated according to his recovery.