Bulls name new Super Rugby coaching panel

Bulls Super Rugby coach Nollis Marais has named his management team for the 2016 Super Rugby season with Anton Leonard being named as forwards coach.

Marais will take charge of his first season of Super Rugby with former Springboks loose forward Anton Leonard as his forwards coach and former Blue Bulls backline coach David Manual as the backline coach.

Former Springbok Tim Dlulane continue in his role as team manager, as is baggage master, Elias Bennet. The technical team to assist the coaches are John-William Meyer and Divan Strydom, who will also act as kicking coaches. SARU Mobi-Unit member Louis Koen will assist them in this regard when needed.

Gary Botha (scrums and break down) and Pine Pienaar (defence) will be involved with both the Super Rugby and Currie Cup sides, as well as the junior sides in this capacity.

Dr. Herman Rossouw is the new team doctor for senior teams. Wernich Smith, Pieter du Plessis, Sanell Morgan, Khuliso Netshivhagani and Karabo Morokane will be utilised as physiotherapists for all the teams and Elzanne van Coller as masseuse.

As with the physiotherapists, the conditioning coaches will also operate in a group.

All condition will be done in partnership with SSL and PVM, with Neil du Plessis in charge.

Henri-Charl Terblanche, Shaun du Toit, Jacus Coetzee, Mark Nicholls and Ghafoer Luckan will assist, Lee-Anne Diab will be the sport scientist and practice coordinator and will help with the conditioning as well. Andries Kabinde will be assist all teams with all store room needs.

“The partnership with SSL will help us to make better use of all the conditioners,” explained BBC’s High Performance Manager, Xander Janse van Rensburg.

“We will be able to make the conditioners available to all the players, which will close down the ratio between conditioner and player considerably. We will be more effective because of the smaller groups,” said Janse van Rensburg.

“We also have an extra gymnasium, as SSL runs one from Loftus. All conditioners are involved with all teams and we will decide per season and per competition who will be involved with which team. Either way, it will still close the ration between the player/conditioner and make sure that everybody is well looked after.”

In another move, Blue Bulls Under-21 coach, Hendré Marnitz, has been promoted to Currie Cup coach for 2016. He will be assisted by Denzil Frans (forwards) and Hayden Groepes (backs and technical). Nqubeku Zulu and Simon Dyidi will be team manager and baggage master in the first round of the Currie Cup and Dlulane and Bennet will take over in the second round. Zulu and Dyidi will then move to the Blue Bulls Under-21’s.

Pote Human takes over from Marnitz and will coach the forwards. He will be assisted by former Springbok fullback, Bevin Fortuin, who will coach the backs, with Vainon Willis the new technical analyst.

Former Leopards coach Jaco Pienaar is the new Blue Bulls Under-19 coach, with former Bulls player Dewey Swartbooi the new backs coach. Hendry Seerane is the team manager, Willis technical analyst and Akhona Felani the baggage master.

Karin Visser will be personal assistant to all the professional teams.

“We are restructuring our operational and logistical departments to make us more streamline and closer to each other,” Janse van Rensburg explained.

“This will also result in us pulling our amateur arm closer to us, which will strengthen our relationships with our clubs. In order to achieve that, we extended Werner de Beer’s responsibilities into a position of Coordinator: Professional Teams, Operational, Logistics and Amateur Rugby.”

Janse van Rensburg will, with Marais, focus on the structures around professional rugby.

“This includes all matters like contracting of players and scouting and all things outside ‘the four lines’. Nollis will handle all rugby related matters ‘inside the four lines’,” Janse van Rensburg explained.

“It is fantastic that we could achieve all of this with a strong representation of former players that can carry the Bulls culture into the future. Guys like Nollis, Anton, Gary, David, Tim, Hayden, Nqubeko, Vainon, Denzil and Dewey all came through the structures. Equally pleasing is the fact that we could honour our transformation goals as well, with 50% of our management team black.”