Latest news with #ex-Springbok
The Citizen
28-06-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
‘He has made us proud' – Lions' Redelinghuys on new Bok Ntlabakanye
Lions monster prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye is set to make his Springbok bow in their opening match of the season against the Barbarians. Asenathi Ntlabakanye will make his first appearance in the green and gold when he starts for the Springboks against the Barbarians on Saturday. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images Lions scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys is incredibly proud of hulking prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, as he prepares to make his first appearance for the Springboks in their non-Test against the Barbarians in Cape Town on Saturday. The 26-year-old Ntlabakanye has improved in leaps and bounds over the past few years, after coming through the Lions' junior ranks, before becoming the captain of the Currie Cup team, and has now been the union's first choice tighthead over the past two seasons. His rise caught the eye of the Springbok management team, and after taking part in a couple of alignment camps, he was brought into the squad for the first time, and will now make his Bok debut, although it won't be counted as an official cap against the famed invitational side. Redelinghuys admitted that it was the goal of all coaches to see their charges reach the highest level of rugby, which is representing their country. Proudest moment 'I must say as a coach I think this is one of our proudest moments. Obviously we do it for our team and our franchise, the Lions, but ultimately for us to help players achieve the highest honour (representing the Springboks), is really special,' said Redelinghuys. 'It is something that we are really proud of him for achieving, especially with all the hard work he has put in. I think in all the years I have worked with him he has only missed one session. He's just a guy that puts in the hard work and it's great to see him getting acknowledged for that. 'It is also fantastic to read how coach Rassie (Erasmus) talks about him, how impressed he is with him and how he thinks he might be one of the future stars for the Springboks. 'So it's a great moment for us as the Lions and an amazing moment for Ase. I am really proud and stoked for him, and I can't wait to see him run onto the field in the green and gold. It is well deserved and I am really happy for him.' Redelinghuys himself is an ex-Springbok, with the 35-year-old having made eight appearances for the national team, but was forced into an early retirement nine years ago after breaking his neck during a match. Range of emotions He explained that Ntlabakanye would be going through a range of emotions in the build-up to the game and that it would be an incredible occasion for him. 'Mine (Springbok debut) wasn't at home, it was in Italy. But you just think of how grateful you are, and the whole week leading up to the game is so special, because there are a lot of things happening,' said Redelinghuys. 'There is a jersey presentation, there is the team announcement and a lot of other things happening throughout the week. So he (Ntlabakanye) will have many different emotions going through this week. 'Obviously with family and everyone that is so proud and happy for him. I think it (game day) is going to be a lekker day for him. It is really special to sing the anthem, and he will have it at a home game which will be unbelievable. 'So I am looking forward to seeing his face when he sings the anthem and runs out. And it's good to see Krappie (Lions teammate Morne van den Berg) there with him as well. It's really going to be awesome.' Early opportunity Ntlabakanye has been able get into the Bok starting mix quicker than expected due to injuries, with experienced tightheads Frans Malherbe and Trevor Nyakane both out injured for the season, while Wilco Louw was ruled out of contention due to the Bulls making the URC final. It is thus a huge opportunity for him and fellow uncapped prop Neethling Fouche to make a big impact against the BaaBaas and force themselves into consideration for the incoming series against Italy and Georgia. 'I have no doubt that Ase will make a success of himself. He's proven it throughout the URC that he can take on the best the game has to offer. This year we also witnessed a serious shift in mindset from him, and a determination to work on what was needed,' said Redelinghuys. 'It has been great to see him make that step up, it has been noticed by the Bok coaches and now he has been rewarded. 'For the past 10 or 12 years the (Bok) tighthead position has been held by Frans, Vince (Koch), Trevor, and Wilco (Louw). For Ase and Neethling to now take it forward, I think the Bok scrum will be in very good hands.' Daan's farm At the Boks' team announcement on Tuesday, Bok coach Erasmus lifted the lid on the massive behind-the-scenes effort that it took to get Ntlabakanye up to the national side's standards, which included him attending a training camp at scrum coach Daan Human's farm. Although Redelinghuys has not had any inside information on what went down there, he believes that it will have done Ntlabakanye the world of good and taken his game to another level. 'I haven't heard what he experienced and went through there. But what I can say is that I know Daan, how good a coach he is and how good a man he is. So I am completely sure that he only brought out the best in Ase,' said Redelinghuys. 'The stuff they worked on will have made a really big difference for Ase, and I have no doubt that he will be playing at a higher level. I don't know what happened or what was done. I am looking forward to (eventually) finding out a bit more. 'But I know it would have been good, knowing Daan and Ase. It will have been a great time for him to pick up new learnings and to improve his development. So I look forward to hearing the stories.'
Wales Online
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Welsh rugby coach lands head coach job at big-spending French club
Welsh rugby coach lands head coach job at big-spending French club The former Cardiff coach has his sights on turning around the French club who have big financial backing Former Fiji sevens coach, Gareth Baber Welsh coach Gareth Baber has been named as the new head coach of French second-tier side Nice. The 52-year-old will leave his current role as Director of Rugby Systems at Cardiff Metropolitan University to join the ambitious French club - who are currently bottom of the Pro D2 - at the end of June. Baber previously led Fiji to gold at the Tokyo Olympics and silver at last year's games in Paris, while he has also held coaching roles at Cardiff and Edinburgh. He had been linked with the Nice job in recent days but the move has now been confirmed, with the Cardiff-born coach relishing the "fantastic opportunity" that awaits him in France. Despite Nice's recent struggles, the club has big financial backing and plans to make a number of big name signings, with Taulupe Faletau among their targets. They have already recruited stars like Fiji skipper Waisea Nayacalevu, former Wales fly-half Owen Williams and ex-Springbok No.8 Uzair Cassiem. Article continues below 'I'm incredibly grateful for my time at Cardiff Met," he said as his exit was made official. "It's been a role that's really pushed me to reflect on how to build high-performing teams and create the kind of environment where people can truly thrive, and that's something I'll take with me into this next chapter. I've built relationships here that I'll always value. "Nice Rugby is an ambitious and exciting project, and I'm looking forward to playing a part in shaping its future. It's a fantastic opportunity to put my vision into practice in a professional environment, and I'm proud to take this next step.' On what he is leaving behind, he added: 'Cardiff Met Rugby is in a strong position. With over 500 student players involved and performance teams competing at the highest levels, we've created an environment that supports excellence on and off the field. Article continues below "That legacy is something I'm really proud of. We continue to plan for next season and beyond. I'm excited to see the continued growth and success of Cardiff Met rugby.'
The 42
07-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Carbery and McNamara play their part in Bordeaux's rise
WHEN JOEY CARBERY suffered a hand injury on his Top 14 debut for Bordeaux back in September, he could scarcely believe it. The out-half had upped sticks from Munster to enjoy a fresh start in France. After years of his body breaking down at the worst times and the struggles for selection and form that resulted, things were surely going to be different with Union Bordeaux Bègles [UBB]. So it must have been deeply frustrating to suffer an injury he's had to deal with before. And yet, Carbery already sensed at that stage that the move to Bordeaux had been a great decision. It's a beautiful city. Carbery's wife and son, who soon turns one, moved over with him and the memories they're making will undoubtedly last a lifetime. Carbery probably also appreciated from early on that he had joined a special rugby club on the rise. Bordeaux sell out the Stade Chaban Delmas for every home game, welcoming in a vocal crowd of more than 32,000 people. UBB have cleverly assembled an excellent squad in recent years, with long-serving president Laurent Marti continuing to ensure the necessary resources are in place. It must be a thrill to be part of a squad including players like Damian Penaud, Matthieu Jalibert, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Yoram Moefana, Pete Samu, Guido Petti, Ben Tameifuna, and rising stars such as Nicolas Depoortère. Carbery was another piece of the jigsaw because Bordeaux were looking for another strong out-half to complement France international Jalibert. Carbery's versatility was another attractive factor, as was his international experience. Only Petti, Jonny Gray, and Penaud in the UBB squad have more Test caps than Carbery's 37. Former France hooker Yannick Bru joined as head coach in the summer of 2023, bringing Irish attack specialist Noel McNamara with him. It was nice for Carbery to have a familiar face to welcome him to Bordeaux at the start of the season. Noel McNamara has made a big impression in Bordeaux. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Also on the UBB coaching staff are former Toulouse back row Shaun Sowerby [forwards], ex-France prop Jean-Baptiste Poux [scrum], former France scrum-half Christophe Laussucq [defence], ex-Springbok Heini Adams [skills], and former France S&C specialist Thibault Giroud. It's a highly-regarded coaching set-up. Carbery knew all of this when he agreed to join Bordeaux, of course, but seeing the quality on a day-to-day basis is undoubtedly exciting. Advertisement He finally got his second appearance for the club in early November when he returned from injury at out-half and it has been a happy run for Carbery ever since, leading to his cameo off the bench for the closing 11 minutes of last weekend's Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulouse. 29-year-old Carbery has played his part in this run to the final, starting the pool win away to Ulster at out-half, then starting at fullback in the pool victory over the Sharks, as well as coming off the bench in a win against Leicester. He impressed at number 10 against Ulster in the Round of 16 before missing out on involvement in the quarter-final against his former club, Munster, as Bordeaux opted for a 6/2 bench split in the quarter-final. Carbery will be hoping there are no thoughts of that for the final against Northampton. Carbery has had nine Top 14 starts this season, with eight at out-half and one at number 15, as well as coming off the bench five times. All in all, it has been a busy and happy opening campaign, with the best possibly ahead. As well as reaching the Champions Cup final, UBB sit second in the Top 14 with four regular-season games remaining. Toulon are only two match points behind, so Bru's men have to get their foot back on the accelerator after back-to-back domestic defeats to Pau and La Rochelle. A top-two finish would mean avoiding the barrages phase of the knock-outs and going straight into the semi-finals. It's a huge focus for Bordeaux. Their scintillating attack means they can be confident of doing damage against any team, while last weekend's win over an admittedly depleted Toulouse shows that Bordeaux also have the forward might to out-muscle teams in high-stakes knock-out rugby. Bordeaux have a highly talented squad. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO The characteristic, stunning transition tries by Samu and Bielle-Biarrey were highlights, but Bordeaux must have taken immense satisfaction from overpowering Toulouse for their last two tries through Pierre Bochaton and Tameifuna. Last year's Top 14 final defeat to les Toulousains, a 59-3 hammering, is increasingly in the rearview mirror. Attack coach McNamara obviously has serious weapons to work with, yet he has done an excellent job of providing some clever plans without getting in the way of or inhibiting that talent. His starter players from set-piece have always been inventive and we've seen more examples of that with Bordeaux. Meanwhile, their phase-play attack has shape without being robotic. McNamara's system gets the best out of one thing that Bordeaux have in abundance – sheer speed. Bielle-Biarrey, Jalibert, Penaud, Romain Buros and co. are lightning quick in the backs, and forwards like Samu, Marko Gazzotti, Maxime Lamothe, Sipili Falatea are mobile and explosive. UBB can go from standing still to top gear in the blink of an eye. McNamara has harnessed that quality well. His coaching journey has been an intriguing one, all the more given his lack of a playing background. Glenstal, Clongowes, UCD, Ireland U20s, North Harbour in New Zealand, the Leinster academy, the Sharks of South Africa, and now Bordeaux. It's a rich, varied CV. A former teacher, McNamara worked hard on his French from day one and speaks it well enough to appear on French TV. That effort to integrate never goes unappreciated in France, particularly given that some foreign coaches don't push themselves to learn. But it is McNamara's coaching quality that has made the biggest impression and while many would like to see him back in Irish rugby, the Clare man has signed on with UBB until the summer of 2027. He and Carbery will now hope to claim Champions Cup winners' medals in Cardiff in three weekends. It would be a second such medal for Carbery, who was on the bench for Leinster in the 2018 final against Racing 92. The Bordeaux duo will wish a few of their compatriots well the night before in Cardiff. Bath will take on Lyon in the Challenge Cup final, with former Leinster lock Ross Molony, ex-Ireland second row Quinn Roux, and former Ulster hooker Niall Annett part of former Munster boss Johann van Graan's squad. Ross Molony has settled in well with Bath. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Roux started in the second row in last weekend's semi-final win over Edinburgh, while Molony and Annett both came off the bench, the hooker scoring a try. 31-year-old second row Molony has played 20 games so far in his first season with Bath, 11 of them in the starting team, and team-mates like Finn Russell have spoken positively about his knowledge and the standards he sets among the squad. Annett, a former Ireland U20 captain, has forged an excellent career in England, firstly by becoming a much-loved figure at Worcester before joining Bath in 2022. The 34-year-old has played 21 times this season, with six starts in the number two shirt. The last of Roux's 16 Ireland caps came in 2020. The former Leinster and Connacht man moved to Bath the same summer as Annett. The 34-year-old remains a powerful presence and has racked up 18 starts in the second row for van Graan's side this season. Bath are favourites to win the Premiership. They have a 15-point lead with three regular-season games left. They will have to negotiate a semi-final and final, of course, but after last year's defeat to Northampton in the decider, many expect them to get over the line this time. Before that, van Graan, whose staff includes former Munster defence coach JP Ferreira, will plan to lead Bath to Challenge Cup glory. They won the Premiership Rugby Cup in March, ending a 17-year trophy drought. Molony, Roux, and Annett hope to help them to bigger and better achievements in the near future.
