New Boks Coach

CatFromHue

Heyneke Meyer has been appointed as the new SA coach. His coaching record looks pretty impressive so it'll be interesting to see how he gets on. The only thing you could fault him it appears is that he hasn't coached since he left Leicester in 2009. If I remember right this was due to having to head home for personal reasons.

As the saying goes there maybe bad Springbok teams but there will never be a Springbok team. With the talent available to him from 5 Super XV teams this is an exciting time for SA fans. Due to the lateness of his appointment, 4 weeks before the start of the Super XV season he won't, as far as I know, get any time with the team before June when they host England in a three test series.

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http://www.espnscrum.com/southafrica/rugby/player/88973.html

Meyer is the current South Africa coach having assumed the Springboks' hotseat at the start of the 2012.

One of the most successful coaches of the modern era, Meyer was appointed by the South African Rugby Union as a replacement for Peter de Villiers who four-year tenure as Boks boss ended with a quarter-final defeat to Australia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

He took on his first provincial head coach position at the SWD Eagles in 1998 at the relatively young age of 30. He immediately took the team to the semi-finals of the Vodacom Cup and a year later he guided the Eagles to a top-four finish in the Currie Cup.

Meyer reached his first final in 2001, leading the Blue Bulls to the Vodacom Cup title, having already served as an assistant to Springbok coach Nick Mallett in 1999. He would return to the international set-up as an assistant to Mallett in 2001 and Harry Viljoen later the same year.

Three consecutive Currie Cup crowns for the Blue Bulls followed in 2002, 2003 and 2004. He also helped turn the Bulls around from Super 12 also-rans to semi-finalists in 2005 and 2006.

The first Super Rugby title for a South African team followed in 2007, when Meyer masterminded the Bulls' victory over The Sharks in an epic final in what had by then become the Super 14.

Meyer was expected by many to succeed Jake White as coach of the Springboks following their World Cup triumph in 2007, but when this job was given to De Villiers, Meyer opted for a high-profile switch to English Premiership side Leicester. Meyer was drafted in by the Tigers as a replacement for former Pumas coach Marcelo Loffreda who lasted just one season at Welford Road. But Meyer's stay would be even shorter than his Argentinean predecessor with the coach heading back to South Africa after just six months on compassionate leave - never to return.

He returned to the Blue Bulls organisation in 2011 and was SARU's unanimous choice to succeed De Villiers following the review into RWC'11.

[Jackass]

Good news that Smal is staying put. He was forwards coach when they won the world cup last, and it'll be interesting to see how the pack get on this 6 nations, but he does seem to be doing a good job, particularly guys like O'Brien and Healy have benefited hugely from being involved in the Irish set up.

PhatPiggins

Delighted with his appointment. Morne Steyn will continue at out half and SA will continue with the bog awful 10 man game that has won them nothing the last two years.