Another Irishman joins Springboks coaching team after successful World Cup stint

Irishman Paddy Sullivan has joined Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks coaching team following a successful stint with the side during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Sullivan linked up with the Boks ahead of the tournament in France last year as an analysis consultant but has been added as a performance analyst for South Africa going forward.

He is the latest addition to the coaching team ahead of the 2024 season after Erasmus recruited ex-All Blacks fly-half Tony Brown and former Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery.

Paddy Sullivan added to the Springboks coaching team

Sullivan clearly impressed during his brief stint with the Springboks in 2023 and will take on the role full-time in 2024 as the back-to-back world champions prepare for the upcoming international season, which begins with a one-off Test against Wales before two Tests against Ireland.

The Killarney native has rugby in his blood as his father Ben played for Killarney RFC while his brother Leonard represented Ireland at underage level.

Meanwhile, he also played for Killarney, Shannon and Munster before moving into coaching and analysis.

He is yet another ex-Munster coach that Erasmus has recruited, having started as an analysis intern for the Irish province back in 2013. He left Munster to join Top 14 club Pau in 2015, before Erasmus arrived at Munster, where he worked as an assistant performance analyst for the senior team and coached in the youth set-up.

Sullivan made the move to Montpellier, taking up the role of senior performance analyst at the club in 2021 and helping the side lift their maiden Top 14 title in 2022.

Montpellier facilitated Sullivan’s role with the Springboks during the World Cup but he is now set to depart the French club to link up with Erasmus’ coaching team.

“We’ve reviewed what is takes to be at the cutting edge of the game and we’ve repurposed the management structure to put as much resource as we can into the technical side of the game,” Erasmus said of the appointments.

“The players will continue to get the necessary off-field support, but we wanted to make sure that we had the right roles filled to make sure that the main thing stays the main thing.”

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Coaching staff complete

Sullivan’s addition has completed the Springboks coaching restructuring ahead of the new World Cup cycle.

Ex-Highlanders, Sunwolves and Japan coach Brown is the side’s new attack coach, filling the gaps that Felix Jones – who joined Steve Borthwick’s England staff – would have left.

Flannery has joined the team after a successful tenure as Harlequins’ defence coach having started his coaching career at Munster.

After missing out on the opportunity to add Nigel Owens to their set up, SA Rugby appointed former referee Jaco Peyper as Laws and Discipline Advisor.

Mzwandile Stick, Daan Human, and Deon Davids continue in their roles as assistant coaches, with Andy Edwards also continuing in his position as Head of Athletic Performance.

Springbok management:

Rassie Erasmus: Head Coach
Charles Wessels: Team Manager
Mzwandile Stick: Assistant Coach
Daan Human: Assistant Coach
Deon Davids: Assistant Coach
Tony Brown: Assistant Coach
Jerry Flannery: Assistant Coach
Andy Edwards: Head of Athletic Performance
Sebastian Prim: Sport Scientist
Paddy Sullivan: Performance Analyst
Lindsay Weyer: Technical Analyst

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