Former Boland Cavaliers coach Franzel September is hopeful his appointment as assistant coach to the Springbok Women's team will inspire others from his region to set their aim high.
The 37-year-old was unveiled on Friday as one of interim head coach Louis Koen's assistants as the Springboks prepare for the WXV 2 tournament in October, and the 2025 World Cup in England.
He has been appointed until the conclusion of the World Cup and will join former Springbok Women's player Laurian Johannes-Haupt as forwards coach.
September is a recent graduate of the SA Rugby's Elite Coaching Programme and started his coaching journey with Roses United rugby club in Wellington before taking up the reins as Boland coach.
"I am excited for this next chapter in my rugby journey and grateful for the opportunities I had with Boland and what we managed to achieve," September said.
"It felt a bit weird at the start (joining the national team), but the ladies welcomed me, and I slotted in very well. I am looking forward to it, and it is going to be awesome.
"I am a bit sad to leave Boland, but joining SA Rugby now gives someone new an opportunity there, so that is great. For me, coming into a national set-up is also something positive for our region as it gives hope to other coaches."
September joins having recently coached Boland to the title in the Currie Cup First Division competition.
Lynne Cantwell, SA Rugby’s High-Performance Manager for Women’s Rugby, said September brings valuable knowledge to the team.
The Women Boks will start preparation for the inaugural WXV 2 tournament soon, where South Africa will play against Samoa, Japan, Italy, USA, and Scotland.
"It is exciting to have a full-time coach added to our coaching staff, which will help us going forward as a programme. It will be a huge advantage as we now have someone working and planning even when we are out of camp, and that was not something we had before this year.
" There is no doubt our pack of forwards is one of the strengths for the team, and to have that complement of our coaching staff now complete means we can really get down to fine-tuning the pack even more."
IOL Sport