Bulls lift the veil on candidates for new head coach
The Blue Bulls Company has announced the final shortlist from which the Bulls' new Super Rugby head coach will be selected.
After weeks of speculation, the Blue Bulls Company (BBCo) on Monday announced a final shortlist of three candidates from which the Bulls’ new Super Rugby head coach will be selected.
This follows weeks of consultation led by a recommendation panel that acted in an advisory role to the board of the BBCo.
The board was ultimately responsible for narrowing down the shortlist after a thorough and well researched process, and will also be responsible for the final appointment.
The three names on the shortlist are Deon Davids (current head coach of the Southern Kings in the Pro 14 competition), Pote Human (current Bulls Super Rugby forwards coach and Currie Cup head coach) and Victor Matfield (former Bulls Captain and Springbok lock).
Davids and Human are very experienced and both coached at club, Currie Cup and SuperRugby level.
Human won the SuperRugby title as part of Heineke Meyer’s coaching staff in 2007, while he was also the head coach of the Blue Bulls when they shared the Currie Cup with the Cheetahs in 2006. On club level he won the Varsity Cup as head coach of Tuks and he also spent three seasons in Japan, where he was the forward coach of the Ricoh Black Rams.
Davids’ experience include head coach of Boland, South Western Districts and the OP Kings, while he also coached the Lions’ o.21 team. He also served as one of the assistant coaches of the South African under-20 team in 2009.
Although Matfield does not have the same experience as a coach in comparison with Human and Davids, his knowledge of the game is rated very high in some circles. He has already worked as assistant coach of the Bulls (SuperRugby) and the Golden Lions (Currie Cup), while he also achieved great success this year with the Blue Bulls’ Loftus 200 amateur team.
Matfield was a senior leader among the players at Loftus Versfeld in the era between 2002 and 2010 when the Blue Bulls and the Bulls achieved unprecedented successes in the Currie Cup and Super Rugby tournaments respectively. This means that, among the three candidates, he probably understands the unique rugby culture of Loftus Versfeld best.
According to a press release the final round of interviews will be held in the next few weeks, with details regarding the appointment being made shortly thereafter.
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