Legendary former Springbok Fourie du Preez will provide input as a part-time coaching consultant at the Vodacom Bulls, writes CRAIG LEWIS.
SARugbymag.co.za has received confirmation from the Bulls that Du Preez has agreed to assist his former team on an informal basis.
When Jake White joined the Bulls as director of rugby, he made no secret of the fact he believed consultants could add immense value should they have a passion to impart specialised skills.
‘We use Henning Gericke as a mental coach. So, yes, consultants are important,’ White commented in episode six of the ‘No Holds Barred’ series on the Bulls app.
‘[South African vision coach] Sherylle Calder – not only by myself at the World Cup – she was used by England in the last World Cup. So there is a definite role for specialists in certain fields.
‘Will I be using them? Of course I will. I will be using specialists who I think are important. Consultants who I think are important.
‘One guy that comes to mind is Fourie du Preez. I think that Fourie, even though he doesn’t want to coach, can play a massive role as a consultant to imparting his knowledge to guys like Ivan [van Zyl] and Embrose [Papier] and maybe even the U21 scrumhalves we have in our system.
‘I think he is a specialist in that he is fantastic at what he did. He understands that he has massive amounts of intellectual property. Using a consultant like Fourie will be massive and without giving too much away, he is definitely somebody who I am going to be talking to.’
It’s believed that Du Preez has now already begun to work with the scrumhalves in the Bulls squad, and will provide input where possible.
Du Preez is widely regarded as one of the greatest scrumhalves to have ever played the game, while his ability to read the game set him apart as a player who teammates and opponents viewed as a ‘rugby genius’.
While the 38-year-old will not be coaching on a full-time basis, he is sure to add value throughout the Bulls ranks, while Springbok scrumhalves Ivan van Zyl and Embrose Papier will have a prime opportunity to develop under his mentorship.
