Swys quits Springboks

NEWS: Swys de Bruin advised Springbok management on Tuesday that he wished to be released from his role as an attack consultant with the team.

De Bruin made the request for “personal and medical reasons” and wished the team every success for the Rugby World Cup.

It is not the first time De Bruin had walked away from a coaching gig.

He returned home from New Zealand during the Lions’ Super Rugby tour to Australasia earlier this year and later admitted he was suffering from a ‘stress-related’ emotional condition.

Although the announcement was only made on Wednesday, it has come to light that he quit the team after the 16-all draw with New Zealand last month.

He did not stay on for the training camp in Auckland an the the 46-13 win over Argentina in Salta this past weekend – the latter cliching the Rugby Championship for the Springboks for the first time.

He has also has not been involved in the preparations for the Test against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld this coming Saturday.

“Swys made a great contribution to the squad in his time with us and I’d like to thank him on behalf of his fellow management and the players he has worked with in the past 12 months,” Bok coach Rassie Erasmus said.

“He brought a fresh perspective to one facet of the game and he’ll be hard to replace.

“I’d also like to thank the Lions Company PTY for releasing him to us and SA Rugby for supporting his appointment.”

Erasmus said he would consider a number of options before naming a specialist replacement coach on a short-term basis.

Erasmus said: “This was not something we were expecting but our planning has been thorough and it’s something we can manage.”