Felix Jones, who was a key member of the Springboks’ triumphant 2019 and 2023 RWC campaigns, has recently rejoined the national team after a stint with England didn’t pan out as planned.
At a media conference on Wednesday, Rassie Erasmus explained Jones’ role in the Springbok coaching set-up, highlight an interesting multi-faceted approach.
Providing more detail on Jones’ role, Erasmus said: “He’ll be in charge of the player roadmaps and gathering all that information for us, as well as running the extras before and after training, so we plan to use him in all the different departments within our coaching matrix.
“He can assist Mzwandile Stick with the off-the-ball work, and all the other coaches with general tactics and detail in their respective departments, while he’ll also play a big role in the administrative side of things, so he has a lot on his plate.”
SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer also added some insights.
“Felix will also work with the Junior Springboks and Springbok Women so that we can ensure a standardisation in the way things operate at the Springboks and our other national teams, which means he will also work very closely with our High-Performance Department headed up by Dave Wessels.
“This arrangement will certainly benefit all our national teams, and we are excited to see what he brings to the table once again at all of those levels.”
Jones returns to join a management team that was already bolstered by the appointments of international coaches Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery after the last World Cup, with Duane Vermeulen also contributing as a ‘mobi unit’ coach.
“We didn’t want to lose Felix in the first place, but his family was based in Ireland,” added Erasmus.
“I’m not sure why things didn’t work out for him over in England, but we are happy to have him back. We don’t have egos in the team, and we believe in sharing responsibilities as coaches, so he will be a valuable asset to the coaching team.”
Springbok management team bolstered by Felix Jones:
Head Coach: Rassie Erasmus
General Manager: Charles Wessels
Assistant Coaches: Tony Brown, Deon Davids, Jerry Flannery, Daan Human, Felix Jones, Mzwandile Stick
Mobi-Unit Coach: Duane Vermeulen
Head of Athletic Performance: Andy Edwards
Laws and Discipline Advisor: Jaco Peyper
Performance Analyst: Paddy Sullivan
Technical Analyst: Lindsay Weyer
Sport Scientist: Sebastian Prim
Team Doctor: Dr Jerome Lehlogonolo Mampane
Physiotherapists: Dr Anuerin Robyn, Lance Lemmetjies
Logistics Manager: JJ Fredericks
Operations Manager: Zintsika Tashe
Media Manager: Zeena Isaacs van Tonder
Dietician: Robyn Moore
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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/springboks/springboks-explain-role-for-new-coaching-addition/
