Philip Snyman is now the permanent head coach of the Blitzboks. (Roger Sedres/Gallo Images)
- SA Rugby mas made Philip Snyman the permanent head coach of the Blitzboks.
- The 37-year old, who has been interim coach for the past six months, signed a deal until the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
- Snyman coached the Blitzboks to bronze at this year’s Paris Games.
- For more sevens rugby news, visit our dedicated section.
Philip
Snyman has been confirmed as permanent head coach of the Springbok Sevens side.
The former
Blitzboks captain had been acting as interim head coach for the past six months
after taking over from Sandile Ngcobo.
Snyman was Ngcobo’s assistant coach but took over the head
coaching duties in March after a series of poor results in the SVNS world series.
Snyman, 28, coached the Blitzboks to victory in the World Rugby
Sevens Repechage tournament in Monaco to gain entry to the Olympic Games in
Paris, where they bagged a bronze medal.
This was
enough for SA Rugby to hand him the job on a permanent basis.
The Blitzboks road to bronze. (Sharlene Rood/News24)
READ | Proud’ Blitzbok coach Snyman on bronze medal win: ‘The moment belongs to the players’
SA Rugby
said on Thursday that Snyman had signed a deal until the next Olympic Games in Los
Angeles in 2028.
“The way
Philip turned around the fortunes of the Blitzboks in a short time was
remarkable and speaks volumes of his abilities as a coach,” said SA Rugby CEO
Rian Oberholzer.
“Their
performances in Monaco and Paris showed that he can get the Blitzboks back to
their former glories and we are pleased to have him on board.
“As a
former captain, Philip brings deep institutional knowledge of the Springbok
Sevens with him, having played in 62 world series events, two Rugby World Cup
Sevens tournaments and a Commonwealth Games where the team won gold.
“Philip is
also the only person in the game who has won medals as a player and a coach at
the Olympics.”
Snyman, who
boasts experience as head coach with Uganda and Germany before his appointment
as Blitzboks assistant coach in 2023, said it was a “massive honour” to be
appointed as full-time head coach.
“It’s a
position that demands the best of what the Blitzboks can be and a position I
always aspired too when I became a coach,” said Snyman.
“There is a
lot of work to be done, despite our recent results. We are still way off being
a top three team and we will be working hard to get back to that position.
“I can’t
wait to get going and I would like to thank SA Rugby’s leadership for the trust
they have placed in me. We have a solid core of players, and I will be looking
at ways to strengthen our player base and depth to such an extent that we will
be contending for titles and medals regularly.”