Port Elizabeth - It appears as if Springbok coach Allister Coetzee will get his confidant Matt Proudfoot into the team management after all.
The duo, who worked together at the Stormers and Western Province for a number of years, also went to coach Japanese club Kobe Steelers after departing the Cape franchise at the end of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
And upon Coetzee's appointment as the new Bok coach in place of Heyneke Meyer in April, he insisted that he could “bring in anyone” to be part of the management in future.
That left the door open for Proudfoot, who is still contracted to Kobe, to get back into South African rugby despite Johann van Graan's retention as the Bok forwards coach.
Now it looks as if Coetzee has got his man. Proudfoot has been spotted as part of the Springbok team management that went around to the Cheetahs and Southern Kings teams this week as part of a national road show before the head coach names his first Bok squad next Saturday, May 28.
The group of players are set to meet up in Stellenbosch the next day to prepare for the three-Test series against Ireland, which starts at Newlands on June 11.
The Southern Kings posted a picture on its Instagram page, which showed Proudfoot posing with the rest of the Bok and Kings management. It is unclear as to whether Proudfoot has been released from his contract at Kobe, but SA Rugby are expected to make an announcement soon in this regard.
Proudfoot, a former tighthead prop who spent many years playing for the Leopards and later the Blue Bulls, won four Test caps for Scotland between 1998 and 2003, having qualified through a Scottish grandfather.
Born in Klerksdorp and having spent most of his life in Potchefstroom, Proudfoot retired in 2004 and turned his hand to coaching at the North-West University. His success with the forwards at Pukke in the Varsity Cup attracted the attention of Western Province, and he moved to Cape Town in 2008.
The 44-year-old Proudfoot is credited with having transformed the WP and Stormers packs into formidable units, especially in the scrums. He helped developed young tight-five talents such as Steven Kitshoff, Scarra Ntubeni, Frans Malherbe and Eben Etzebeth, all of whom are likely to be part of Coetzee's first Springbok squad.
African News Agency