Cape Town - Chean Roux has reportedly been relieved of his duties as defence coach of the Springboks.

Roux, who is employed by SA Rugby, acted as defence coach for the national team in 2016, but according to Rapport, that will no longer be the case on the Springboks’ end of year tour to Europe next month.

The Boks struggled on defence this year, with the team conceding 22 tries in six Rugby Championship matches, including nine in their final match against New Zealand in Durban.

The Lions’ JP Ferreira and the Bulls’ Pine Pienaar have been identified as possible successors, although the appointment will only be for the duration of the year-end tour, the Afrikaans newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, SA Rugby is also keen to improve the national team’s attack, with backline experts Swys de Bruin (Lions) and Franco Smith (Cheetahs) seemingly in SA Rugby’s sights.

SA Rugby is expected to announce the appointments after Saturday’s Currie Cup final between the Free State Cheetahs and Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein.



On their year-end tour, the Springboks will face the Barbarians (London, November 5), England (London, November 12), Italy (Florence, November 19) and Wales (Cardiff, November 26).

