Former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has made the five-man shortlist for the vacant head-coaching role with the Eastern Province Elephants.

The Eastern Province Rugby Union on Friday confirmed that De Villiers was on the list alongside Ricardo Laubscher, who served as Springbok assistant coach under Heyneke Meyer between 2012 and 2015, as well as former Springbok wing Deon Keyser.

Also shortlisted are former Varsity Cup coaches Jonathan Mokuena, who won the title with North-West University in 2017, and Kevin Musikanth, who has served as head coach of the University of Cape Town.

Interviews for the EP Elephants head coach position are set to commence on 2 December. The EPRU is looking for a new head coach after parting ways with Chumani Booi, who left the union to take up a role with the Pumas Rugby Institute.

‘Our independent panel is delighted with the number and quality of candidates who have shown interest in being part of the Eastern Province vision for the upcoming season,’ EPRU independent panel chairman Maasdorp Cannon said.

De Villiers was linked with the Southern Kings head-coaching job last year, a position that was ultimately never filled on a permanent basis before the franchise’s liquidation in September.

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