Outgoing Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber has left the door open to being involved again with the newly-crowned, back-to-back world champions.
Nienaber, who coached South Africa to a historic World Cup title defence in France on Saturday, is set to join Leinster, having signed a contract with the Irish club before the tournament got under way in France.
Speaking during a Bok conference following the team’s arrival at OR Tambo International on Tuesday, Nienaber touched on his time in the national setup and his role in a change of management.
“In 2011, I was lucky to be with the Boks for seven Tests and I thought I would never be involved again. In 2016, I was involved for three Tests against Ireland but I had already signed with Munster,” the former physiotherapist told reporters.
“When I left, I thought that it was an unbelievable 10 Tests with the Boks. Now I am here and a lot of people think it is the end.
“But one thing that I have learnt is that we plan our lives and think I want to be there in a year’s time, or there in a year’s time.
“Life has its own plans. Right now, it is the end with this group but whether it is the end with the Boks, no one knows.
“If I come back, I must be relevant, I must be good enough, the players must want me here, the people must want you here. If that all happens, it will be an unbelievable honour.”
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SA Rugby announced before the World Cup that a majority of the coaching staff, including assistants Mzwandile Stick, Deon Davids, Daan Human and Andy Edwards, have extended their contracts to stay with the Boks.
SARU are also happy to let director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, fill the role of head coach in the interim.
“The succession planning, I will obviously leave to [SA Rugby president] Mark [Alexander] and Rassie and the leadership group,” Nienaber said.
“I can promise you it will be intense for the remainder of the year and there will be a proper handover.”
Alexander added: “I think we will do the wash-up of the tournament first, and then we will talk about where we will go next – but there is no rush.
“We have a director of rugby that can fill in during the meantime. We are taking our time to look at the other coach within the system and then we will decide. There is no big rush … We are building capacity within the organisation.”
Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
