Callie van Wyk named as Kudus coach

Kudus Rugby Club (KRC) in Walvis Bay yesterday announced the appointment of Callie Van Wyk as head coach and director of rugby. Van Wyk has a lot of management experience and has coached at invitational (Northern Transvaal, Golden Lions and Pumas), provincial (Young Lions and Golden Lions A Team), senior (East Rand Rugby Club, Eldorainians and Randfontein) and school level (Wennie du Plessis High, Mariental High and Monument High) between 1983 and 2002. “Van Wyk started a rugby academy in conjunction with the Golden Lions Rugby Union in Walvis Bay in 2006 and produced several international players such as Chrysander Botha and Damian Stevens. He will be responsible for coaching the teams and the coaches at KRC and is in the process of recruiting a team of assistants,” said KRC chairperson Zane Jansen. Van Wyk said he believes in simplicity, getting the basics right and doing the things that work to the best of one’s capabilities. “I will concentrate on the first things first. This includes scrumming techniques, ball possession, lineouts and kicks. “Rugby is a fifteen-man game and each player must be adequately equipped to make the right decisions on the field. We will thus focus to correct identified mistakes during training.” Jansen confirmed that KRC had lost a number of quality players such as Bevan Botha and Aurelio Plato, who are studying in Cape Town, while Fernando Wohler returned to Dolphin Rugby Club. “Rumours are flying around but we received nothing concrete from some of the players and will make an announcement with regard to new signings possibly next week. “Prop Andries Rossouw, who played in the Blue Bulls U21 squad, is one of the young and exciting prospects that might be joining KRC for the upcoming season. “We want to win the league this year and believe with the rugby experience and knowledge of Callie van Wyk this can be achieved. KRC reached the quarterfinals in 2014 and the semi-finals in 2015. “We will once again table the issue of securing home advantage for teams from other regions that qualify for the semi-finals of their respective leagues at the Namibian Rugby Union (NRU) AGM.” According to Jansen, the club also resolved a number of issues which required time. The AGM was postponed to Tuesday due to the absence of a quorum. Only three members of the former management retained positions. Some withdrew due to work commitments. Elmo Kurz was elected as vice-chairperson, Jonathan Willsnach as vice-secretary and Collin Stevens re-joined management as an additional member. Sakkie Mouton remains in charge of strength and conditioning training. The deputy minister of Urban and Rural Development, Derek Klazen, is the patron of the club. Van Wyk said he was well aware of the enormous potential in the KRC camp and that he was looking forward to meeting the players in Narraville on Monday at 18:30. The tentative fixtures provided by the Namibian Rugby Union indicate that the season might start during the first week of March. Nothing has been finalised yet in the absence of a sponsor for the league. KRC practises on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Narraville Rugby Stadium from 18:15 to 20:00. Specialised training sessions will be conducted on Wednesdays. OTIS FINCK