HE’S A MAN ON A MISSION
Kings look to bringing Stick on board
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick is being lined up as a possible head coach of the Isuzu Southern Kings ahead of the new Guinness Pro14 season.
Overseas sources said the Kings had Stick in their sights and wanted him to link up with the side after the World Cup ends on November 2 in Japan.
The Pro14 kicks off late in September, and the Kings may appoint an interim head coach until the new man is ready to climb into the hot seat.
Stick is no stranger to the Kings set-up and has held coaching positions with Eastern Province in the Vodacom Cup as well as the Kings in Super Rugby.
News that Stick could be the main man at the Kings follows Sharks assistant coach Sean Everitt saying he had turned down a bid to get him to move to Port Elizabeth.
It is believed the Kings are planning a total cleanout of their existing coaching staff ahead of the new season as the owners bid to stamp their authority on the team.
Though nothing has been finalised, it seems Kings head coach Deon Davids is on his way out of the franchise after it was revealed that there were ongoing talks about his future.
Assistant Kings coach Chumani Booi, who is coaching the EP Elephants, said he was in negotiations regarding his future after talk emerged that he was also heading for the door.
Kings kicking coach Henning van der Merwe has left the franchise and has joined Pearson High School’s rugby department.
It is expected that more clarity on the Kings’ coaching plans will emerge when chair, Loyiso Dotwana, and deputy chair, Rory Stear return from a trip to England.
Stick captained the South Africa Sevens team during the 2008-09 IRB Sevens World Series, which saw the team win the series title for the first time.
In 2009 Stick came off the bench for a Southern Kings XV against British and Irish Lions in the first major rugby match played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium during the 2009 tour to South Africa.
He was later named in the Southern Kings’ wider training squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season, but was subsequently released to the Vodacom Cup squad.
After he hung up his boots, Stick made an immediate impression in the coaching world.
He became the head coach of the EP U19 team and their Vodacom Cup team for 2014 and 2015 seasons, guiding the U19s to their first U19 provincial championship title win in 2015.
In December 2015, Stick was appointed as the backline coach of the Kings team for the 2016 Super Rugby season, and later joined the Springboks in the same capacity in April 2016.
It also is expected that another former Kings coach, Vuyo Zangqa, will link up with the Kings as backline coach.
Zangqa’s playing career was prematurely ended in 2009 when he suffered serious facial injuries in a car accident aged only 27.
Zangqa also represented the Border Bulldogs and Leopards in a number of senior provincial campaigns.