THIRTY-three-year-old South African Dave Wessels has been appointed the new head coach of the Western Force, replacing Michael Foley.

Wessels will be officially unveiled on Wednesday morning in Perth.

The little-known coach has served as an assistant at the Force for the past four seasons and stepped up as interim head coach after Foley was released in June.

It’s understood Wessels got the nod for the permanent head coach job ahead of former Queensland assistant coach Matt O’Connor, who was the other main contender.

In a global search for a coach that also saw the Force have contact with former England coach Stuart Lancaster, former Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer and sought-after former Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder, the promotion of Wessels from within will come as a surprise to many.

New Western Force coach Dave Wessels. Source: Getty Images

But it also speaks to the firm support for Wessels of the Force players and administration.

Despite the ARU having taken financial control of the club this year and the initial desire of some powerbrokers to appoint O’Connor, Force boss Mark Sinderberry is understood to have lobbied hard for the young coach.

It is unknown what O’Connor will do but Australian rugby is now at a major risk of losing the experienced former Leinster and Leicester coach, who has missed out on the head coach vacancies in Brisbane and Perth.

Wessels, who hails from Cape Town, began his professional coaching career as a defence coach for the Stormers in 2008 and 2009.

He coached the University of Cape Town for a few seasons before Jake White recruited Wessels to the Brumbies in 2012 season.

Foley took him to the Force in 2013 as an assistant, and he also co-coached the Perth Spirit in the NRC.