USA Rugby suspended rising coach last year for sexual misconduct

Brent Schrotenboer | USA TODAY

An international rugby coach who had been mentioned as a candidate last year to take over the USA men’s national team received a 10-year suspension for sexual misconduct and harassment in November, according to records reviewed by USA TODAY Sports.

Eugene “Loffie” Eloff prematurely left his contract in August with the Austin Huns in Texas, shortly after he had led them to a national championship in June against the New York Athletic Club. He said then that he had accomplished his goals in the U.S. and was retiring to his home in South Africa after being “humbled to be on the list” for the USA Rugby men’s head coach position, according to his statement in the news media.

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Records reviewed by USA TODAY Sports shows something else was at play at the time. The U.S. Center for SafeSport and USA Rugby suspended him in November, resolving an investigation that began months earlier and effectively ended his career here. The Center described his violation only in categorical terms: “Sexual misconduct - Sexual harassment.”

Eloff denied the allegation to USA TODAY Sports this week and said it didn’t have anything to do with his departure from the USA.

“There was a trainer who made allegations of sexual harassment, me making remarks of her breasts in front of the team,” Eloff said. “Our owners knew the situation and also investigated. It was clear that she did not get along with me and tried to frame me. Nothing happened.”

Eloff said he wasn’t aware he had been suspended by USA Rugby. Huns Rugby Management owner Richard Osborn employed Eloff as coach in Austin, Texas, but also said he wasn’t aware of how USA Rugby and SafeSport resolved the matter. He said the allegation was known to team management at the time Eloff retired.

“We were informed of the (allegation) by the SafeSport group,” said Osborn, now president and owner of Austin Elite Rugby, a team in Major League Rugby. “We immediately suspended Loffie, and Loffie retired and went back to South Africa. He had somebody who was ill in the family and went back to South Africa. We never heard any results from the investigation.”

Osborn said he couldn’t elaborate on the allegation because it was a personnel matter. USA Rugby officials didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment, and the reporting party could not be reached.

After recent scandals dramatically raised awareness of abuse issues in Olympic sports, the Center for SafeSport opened in 2017 to investigate and resolve claims of such abuse. The center initially was chartered by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The center receives and resolves reports of policy violations and hopes to increase prevention, education and awareness of these issues.

But in this case, the matter was resolved so quietly that Eloff and his former employers say they didn’t know about the suspension he received in November. It also was not publicized by USA Rugby, the sport’s national governing body and a member of the USOC.

SafeSport rules require the accused party to be given notice of any decision. The accused party then has five business days to request a hearing on the matter. If the accused does not request a hearing, the decision can go into effect.

“I had a wonderful time in the USA and left my coaching career on a high,” Eloff said. “I did not contest the allegations as I felt it was false.”

A representative for SafeSport said the organization could not comment on individual cases.

Eloff previously developed national team talent in South Africa, where rugby is popular, and had led the U-19 South African Springbok team to world titles in 2003 and 2005.

His hiring in Austin was announced in May 2016, but just about 15 months later, he requested the team grant him an early release from his three-year deal, according to sport24 in South Africa.

South African media at the time also described him as a candidate for the USA Rugby men’s coaching position. The U.S. team’s coach that spring, John Mitchell, had announced he was leaving to join the Blue Bulls team in South Africa, where he also resided. Eloff announced he was retiring in August. In October, USA Rugby named another South African, Gary Gold, as the USA team’s new head coach.

Contributing: Rachel Axon, Nancy Armour

Follow Schrotenboer on Twitter @Schrotenboer