Monday is D-Day for Matfield

REACTION: The Bulls will know on Monday where they stand with Springbok legend Victor Matfield, in the protracted coaching saga.

As @rugby365com reported, reports that Matfield will soon be unveiled as the new coach of the Bulls ahead for the 2019 Super Rugby season appear to be premature.

Bulls President Willem Strauss confirmed that Matfield has indicated that he is no longer keen to replace John Mitchell – who joined Eddie Jones’ England staff as a defence coach in September – as Super Rugby coach.

Strauss and new CEO Alfons Meyer had asked Matfield to ‘reconsider’ his position.

“Victor will confirm tomorrow [Monday] what he has decided and then we will take it from there,” Strauss told @rugby365com.

As this website reported at the weekend, Matfield’s reluctance to take up a full-time position at Loftus Versfeld is for family reasons and the fact that he feels he will have better job security with other employers – including his work as the PayTV analyst – where he has a well-paid, long-term contract.

Strauss denied that they have “re-opened” negotiations with the Western Province Currie Cup trio of John Dobson (head coach), Danie Snyman (attack) and Normal Laker (defence).

He said the “letter of permission” mentioned in a @rugby365com report at the weekend was from a month ago and was not a new letter.

The group was on a previous short list of the Bulls, but they dropped off at an early stage.

Strauss said they will only consider “alternative options” once they get an answer from Matfield on Monday.

It has also emerged that the BBC may not appoint Alan Zondagh as a full-time Director of Rugby.

Zondagh, a former Western Province coach, was also linked to a prominent position at Loftus Versfeld.

However, @rugby365com has learnt that he may only help out on a part-time or consultancy basis.

Zondagh – who had coaching stints with Eastern Province, Western Province and London Scottish, while being a Director of Rugby at Saracens – in recent years ran a very successful High-Performance Centre in Riebeek West in the Western Cape.

The Bulls’ attempts to find a replacement for Mitchell have run into numerous problems and resulted in candidates – like Jimmy Stonehouse and Fourie du Preez – distancing themselves from the position.

By Jan de Koning
@king365ed
@rugby365com

* Look which Springboks may also head abroad …