Vodacom Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White confirmed the senior coaching group at the Pretoria-based side following a series of recruitments, departures and reshuffling.
The senior coaching group that will assist White comprises of Nollis Marais, Joey Mongalo, Russell Winter, Chris Rossouw and Pine Pienaar.
Marais, a former Bulls head coach, was named as breakdown specialist, a new position created given the importance of that aspect of the game and the changes to the laws by World Rugby.
The Bulls said that Marais’ job is to ensure that all teams under the banner of the Vodacom Bulls and Vodacom Blue Bulls are able to adapt to, and successfully implement and maximise those laws on the field.
“Teams have always had consultants or forwards coaches addressing the breakdown as part of their broader roles. This will become a key focus area for us going forward, especially with the breakdown laws being changed. It also speaks to the type of rugby we will be looking to play,” White said.
Mongalo will be the defence coach having served in several roles, including defence and attack, for a number of teams. He also spent a decade with the Emirates Lions and Xerox Golden Lions.
Winter was named forwards coach last week, while Rossouw will remain as backline coach. Pienaar, meanwhile, moved to the role of technical advisor having been defence coach.
White also confirmed that the Bulls will announce a new scrum coach in the near future following the release of Daan Human to the Springboks.
“He (Human) has done some amazing work with the pack, as can be seen on the field, and undoubtedly will be missed at Loftus. We have already engaged a few candidates and are confident that we will announce a suitable replacement shortly.”
Since White’s appointment in March, he has seen an overhaul of the team during the off-season occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic as he attempts to help the team regain its past glory which saw the team win three Super Rugby titles.
