Former Vodacom Bulls coach Pote Human is set to return to Bloemfontein following confirmation of his appointment as head coach of Shimlas for the 2021 Varsity Cup.

Human, who will take charge of the Varsity Cup team for the second time in his career, says he has always had a ‘soft spot’ for the Free State, where he coached at club, university and provincial levels.

The experienced coach, who coached the Bulls’ Super Rugby team in 2019 and 2020, will start working at the University of the Free State (UFS) on 2 November to begin preparing the Shimlas for the Varsity Cup. He takes over from former Springbok flank Hendro Scholtz, who is no longer available as head coach due to work pressure. Scholtz will continue to be a Shimlas assistant coach.

Following his abrupt departure from the Bulls earlier this year, Human says he is excited about the new challenge.

‘Bloemfontein has wonderful people and the Shimlas have a great management team. I have known Jaco [Swanepoel], who coached my son Gerhard at Grey College, since my years as Shimla coach,’ he said.

‘I am particularly proud that the Shimlas won the FNB Super Bowl tournament [similar to the Varsity Cup], the Bloemfontein club championship trophy and the National Club championships in 2004,’ Human said about his success at Shimlas in his first stint.

‘Several of the young men who played for Shimlas at the time, including Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Gurthrö Steenkamp, ​​CJ van der Linde, Ruan Pienaar and Wian du Preez, later became Springboks.’

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