Rassie Erasmus and Duane Vermeulen? How the Springboks coaching team could line up

Dylan Coetzee
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus, former All Black Tony Brown, ex-Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery.

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus, former All Black Tony Brown, ex-Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery.

The next Rugby World Cup cycle has begun, and what comes with that is the inevitable coaching shuffles with the back-to-back reigning champions, the Springboks, undergoing several changes in their backroom staff.

Whilst many of the appointments have not been officially announced due to a delay caused by Rassie Erasmus’ hospitalisation at the end of January, Planet Rugby takes a look at the probable coaching ticket.

Head coach: Rassie Erasmus

The masterful duo of Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber has finally split up after years of success together with the latter taking on the role of senior coach at Leinster.

With Nienaber out of the picture, it is expected that Erasmus will step back into the head coach role that he held during the 2019 World Cup where he led the Springboks to the title in Japan.

Although in the background for most of the last World Cup cycle, Erasmus had his fingerprints all over the title defence in 2023 whilst developing other areas in South Africa, including massive developments in the game at women’s and youth levels.

The tactician now has the task of managing the transition between the old guard and new talent as he pushes for an unprecedented three-peat of titles.

Erasmus is still the SA Rugby director of rugby, but it is reported that he will relinquish a host of his responsibilities to concentrate on being head coach of the Springboks through to the 2027 World Cup. This is set to trigger a restructuring in the Boks and SARU’s high-performance and coaching set-up.

Forwards coach: Deon Davids

The well-respected coach has been a key figure in the Springboks coaching set-up since 2020. Davids would grow in stature as a coach over the next four years in the build-up to back-to-back titles.

With the Springboks’ game plan heavily relying on forward dominance, it is safe to say that the coach has been successfully influencing the star talent over the course of his four-year tenure to date. He has signed on until the next World Cup.

Scrum coach: Daan Human

The former Springbok prop took over from Matthew Proudfoot in 2020 as the scrum coach and has not looked back as he moulded one of the most powerful scrums in the game.

The South Africa front-row talents are impressive, but Human has been critical in building up a strong pool of world-class options that ultimately played a key role in their 2023 success.

Human is another who has signed on until the next World Cup in 2027.

Backline coach: Mzwandile Stick

Stick is the longest-serving member of the coaching staff, having joined the Springboks set-up in 2016 under head coach Allister Coetzee. While he was demoted to the SA u20s in 2017, he was brought back into the set-up when Erasmus was brought into the hot seat in 2018.

The former Blitzbok is a highly rated coach and has also grown in stature, particularly in the last six years, so much so that he was rewarded with the opportunity to coach South Africa ‘A’ against Munster late in 2022.

The 39-year-old has also signed on until the next World Cup.

Attack coach: Tony Brown

One of the new additions coming in that is yet to be officially confirmed by SA Rugby, however, Stuff has reported that it is a done deal.

Brown is a former All Blacks and Highlander fly-half who was a star playmaker during his playing career. Since heading into the coaching space he has worked with the Highlanders, Sunwolves and Japan. He has mostly worked as Jamie Joseph’s assistant, but he has held the head coach position at the Highlanders.

Had Joseph landed the All Blacks head coach role instead of Scott Robertson, it is understood that Brown would have led New Zealand’s attack and although he is highly-rated in Aotearoa, he was reportedly only going to take the job along with Joseph.

He is no stranger to South African solid, having played for both the Stormers and the Sharks in short stints. Brown is certainly a fascinating appointment but one that could mean great things for the Springboks attack, particularly with the emerging talent.

Defence coach: Jerry Flannery

Another unconfirmed arrival and a replacement for Nienaber’s defensive duties. The ex-Ireland hooker worked with Erasmus before, when the tactician was coaching Munster.

Since then, he has been working with Harlequins as their line-out and defence coach since 2020, helping the side lift the Premiership title in 2021. The Irishman is a highly regarded coach, and the fact that Erasmus has worked with him before and has specifically recruited him bodes well for his prospects with the Springboks.

‘High-level’ unconfirmed role: Duane Vermeulen

It is still unclear what exactly the two-time World Cup winner’s role will entail, with information only suggesting he will take up a “high-level” role in SA Rugby that would allow him to work with any of South Africa’s national teams.

Rumours straight after the World Cup suggested the former number eight would come in as the defence coach but now looks to be taking on some of the responsibilities of the director of rugby role which is set to fall away.

Vermeulen is highly respected for his rugby intellect, particularly around defence and mauling, so much so that he has had talks with the Stormers and Bulls about a coaching role.

There is a possibility that he could run a mobi coaching unit similar to what Erasmus was doing during the Heneke Meyer and Allister Coetzee eras; however, the finer details are yet to be seen and will likely be confirmed around the time of the Flannery and Brown announcements.

READ MORE: GRAPHIC: Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus reveals the GRUESOME extent of his chemical burns

Features Daan Human Deon Davids Duane Vermeulen Mzwandile Stick Rassie Erasmus Tony Brown

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