New man Van Graan a good fit

IT’S a relief to finally have the coaching saga sorted, and it seems like Munster have made a very positive appointment.

While there are understandable concerns around how he will handle the pressure of a head coach’s role, particularly at a club with such high expectations, his reputation speaks volumes.

I was chatting to Jean de Villiers during the week and he is a big fan of Johann van Grann.

He described him as someone who has always adapted well across numerous roles and is an inventive coach who commands great respect from his peers and his players.

At 37, Van Graan is quite young but you have to remember he has been coaching since he was 23.

I thought it was interesting that he was primarily a forwards coach with South Africa but had a big impact on a lot of the attack structures. The fact he was the only coach to remain in the setup following Allister Coetzee’s appointment says a lot too.

It doesn’t matter that South Africa have gone through a rough period while he has been in the set-up, he still has great experience of coaching world-class players and will have learned a lot from helping the Springboks to a World Cup semi-final.

When someone like De Villiers is singing your praises you’re obviously doing something right.