Cheetahs reshuffle coaches to cope with unique demands

The demands of playing in the Currie Cup premier division and imminently in Europe’s PRO 14 have led to a coaching reshuffle at the Free State Cheetahs‚ as they seek to balance their resources.

For the first eight weeks of PRO 14 the Cheetahs will also be involved in the Currie Cup.

It’s a unique‚ once-off situation after the Cheetahs and Southern Kings were late inclusions in PRO 14 following their axing from Super Rugby.

SA Rugby’s various committees are currently working on proposals‚ set to be presented to the board next week‚ to restructure the Currie Cup from 2018 to make allowances for PRO 14.

But this year‚ it’s a case of crisis management as the Cheetahs juggle two important competitions.

Another layer of complexity is that Director of Rugby‚ Franco Smith‚ is currently with the Springboks in the role of backline coach.

He won’t be back in Bloemfontein for more than a few days until early October.

The hard-working Smith will still help the Cheetahs with planning and their tactical blueprint for both competitions‚ but until his Bok commitments briefly end‚ his hands-on input will be miniscule.

Englishman Dave Williams has been appointed as the new backline and attack coach in view of PRO 14 tour as well as the Currie Cup.

Williams is a very experienced coach and was previously assistant-coach for the Kobe Steelers in Japan‚ he also coached London Irish and Bath in England.

He was also the backline and coach coordinator for the Southern Kings. For the overlap with the Currie Cup‚ the coaching staff of Toyota Cheetahs will be as follows: Head-coach: Rory Duncan‚ forwards coach – Corniel van Zyl‚ backline coach – Dave Williams and defence coach – Charl Strydom. Dr Rudi de Wet and JP du Toit will form part of this team‚ as the team medical doctor and physiotherapist.

The fitness coordinator and biokineticist is Quintin Kruger‚ who also forms part of this team. Where the PRO14 overlaps with the Currie Cup‚ structures will be as follows:

Currie Cup Coach will be Daan Human with MJ Smith as backline coach.

Albert Keuris will act as skills coach. A medical doctor will be appointed to assist them with Erick Colyn the Physiotherapist.

In other news the Cheetahs have signed former Junior Springbok flyhalf Ernst Stapelberg to bolster their ranks.

Niel Marais and Fred Zeilinga‚ their two first choice flyhalves‚ are both on a long-term injury list leaving Ryno Eksteen as the only fit flyhalf at such a critical stage of the season.

- TimesLIVE