Cardiff yet to lock in their South African coach
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Corniel van Zyl’s future as Cardiff head coach remains uncertain following their heavy defeat to the Bulls in Round 13 of the United Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
The South African has been in charge of the Welsh outfit since the start of the season after Matt Sherratt’s departure, but has yet to be permanently appointed.
Van Zyl had been linked with the head coach role at Benetton and reportedly held preliminary talks with the Italian side, where he spent eight seasons as a player. However, Benetton have since appointed former Wales coach Wayne Pivac.
Speaking after the loss in Pretoria, Van Zyl confirmed discussions are ongoing regarding his position at Cardiff.
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“[We are] in conversations, but nothing confirmed yet,” Van Zyl said.
Despite the uncertainty, the 47-year-old said he and his family have settled well in Wales.
“It’s a massive honour, and I’m obviously very proud of the opportunity to do it.
“We’ve settled in really well in Wales, surprisingly.
“But it’s easier to adapt from South Africa to Wales than from South Africa to England, so that was easy. The family were all happy, and they love it.
“The people at the club are what make it so enjoyable, because the players buy into whatever you say.”
Cardiff endured a difficult outing against the Bulls, going down 7-40 after conceding six tries. The visitors made a bright start with an early try but were reduced to 14 men, allowing the hosts to take control.
The defeat tightens the standings, with fifth-placed Cardiff now just one point ahead of Munster, while the Bulls in eighth are five points behind.
With the competition heating up, Van Zyl acknowledged the importance of their upcoming clash against the Sharks.
“It just feels like the pressure is building every game now with the run-in. It’s obviously important. But yeah, I think we didn’t really target a game to win.
“We just try to put our game on the pitch and try to fight for the jersey, try to enjoy it, which are the main things we’re about. So yes, we probably didn’t do that today [Friday] at all times. But yeah, it was challenging.”
For the first time this season, Cardiff failed to pick up any points in a URC match – a setback Van Zyl admitted was disappointing.
“We thought there were always going to be points to take. But credit to the Bulls, they played well, and they took it away from us.”
