AFTER FELIX JONES played an important role in their back-to-back World Cup titles, the Springboks have turned to another Irishman as they set their sights on making history by becoming the first nation to win three in a row.
The photo shared by SA Rugby yesterday was the latest reminder of how cool a challenge Jerry Flannery has undertaken.
Former Ireland and Munster hooker Flannery has now started his role as the Springboks defence coach, joining the set-up for this week’s ‘alignment camp’ as the South Africans launch a new chapter that they hope will bring about more history.
The Boks became just the second team to win back-to-back World Cups last year and there’s no doubt that Rassie Erasmus will now be plotting towards a third consecutive title in Australia in 2027, having extended his contract to take in that tournament.
Erasmus is already one of the greatest rugby coaches ever. He and the Springboks have plenty of haters but his achievements in charge of the South Africans have been remarkable, especially given how poor they were before he took over.
The 51-year-old is now facing into perhaps the most challenging period yet. There is a good chance that many of his two-time World Cup-winning players will still be around in 2027 but there is undoubtedly a period of regeneration and revitalisation ahead.
“We made it clear last year that what we did in 2019 would not be enough to defend our title at the 2023 World Cup, and the same concept applies after last year’s international spectacle,” said Erasmus this week.
The Boks seem unlikely to completely reinvent themselves but Erasmus is always looking for ways to innovate. It will be intriguing to see how things change with a new coaching team around him.
He landed a huge coup in securing Kiwi genius Tony Brown as his new attack coach to succeed Jones, who has moved on to become England’s defence coach.
Brown, who joins after two World Cup cycles with Japan, is a creative attack specialist who is renowned for designing clever set-piece plays. Given the firepower in South African rugby, it will be fun to see what he comes up with.
On the other side of the ball, Flannery is tasked with succeeding a Springboks great in Jacques Nienaber. The South African defence has been their calling card, a highly aggressive, incredibly hard-working system that has shut opposition attacks down and also created chances for the Boks to score.
45-year-old Flannery has had an interesting pathway to this point. He played for Ireland 41 times and represented Munster on 94 occasions, figures which would have been higher but for his cruel luck on the injury front.
Upon being forced to retire in 2012, he studied for a Master’s degree in sports performance, which led to a season working as a strength and conditioning coach with Premier League football club Arsenal. But Anthony Foley convinced him to return to Munster as scrum coach in 2014 and that role expanded into the forwards coach position in 2017 when Erasmus was director of rugby in the southern province.
It was 2019 when Flannery decided to turn down a contract extension offer with Munster and he soon took up an offer from Harlequins, initially as their lineout coach and then in a beefed-up role that included responsibility for the defence.
A Premiership title in 2021 was the pinnacle of Flannery’s four-year stint with Quins and he was a hugely influential figure within the English club.
Flannery watched on with pride as Jones, who left Munster at the same time in 2019, helped the Springboks to win those back-to-back World Cups, probably not realising that he would be part of the Boks set-up in the future.
It was always going to be fascinating to see who Erasmus brought into his coaching ticket after Nienaber and Jones’ departures. The capture of Brown, who has spurned chances to be part of the All Blacks coaching teams on several occasions, was a big surprise and few people had predicted that Flannery would be part of the picture.
Yet Erasmus knows Flannery well from their time working together in Munster when the Limerick man learned huge amounts about defence from Nienaber. The channels have always remained open in the years since.
So it is that Flannery gets his chance as a coach in international rugby. Making it all the more fun is the fact that Ireland are heading to South Africa for two Tests this July. They promise to be enthralling battles as the Springboks look to settle a score after losing their last three games against the Irish.
This week, Erasmus and co. have begun the new chapter. His coaching team has some continuity in the form of Mzwandile Stick, Deon Davids, and Daan Human, while Jaco Peyper looks like a clever appointment as their laws advisor following his retirement from professional refereeing.
The Boks have gathered 43 players, including 16 uncapped players, in Cape Town for two days to start planning towards a clash against Wales at Twickenham in June, that two-Test series against Ireland in July, then the Rugby Championship.
The Boks haven’t won the Rugby Championship since 2019 so they’ll be going after that trophy but all that we know about them suggests they’re already planning in detail for the 2027 World Cup and making more history there.
Flannery is in for a thrilling new chapter in his career.
