Sean Erasmus is the new man appointed to lead Maties Rugby as head coach.

The announcement was made by Stellenbosch University and Maties Sport on Friday 7 August.

Erasmus joins Maties on Tuesday 1 September following an outstanding tenure as head coach of Paarl Boys’ High School, where he established a leading school rugby programme.

He replaces current head coach Kabamba Floors, who was appointed as the Maties Rugby head coach in 2023

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Building strong cultures

Drikus Hancke, head of rugby at Maties Sport, said the appointment followed an extensive and highly competitive recruitment process. “Sean is one of the country’s most respected high-performance coaches, with a proven track record of building successful programmes and developing people,” he related.

“Throughout the recruitment it became clear that his coaching philosophy aligns strongly with the values and ambitions of Maties Rugby. What distinguished Sean was his ability to build strong team cultures, develop players and provide the leadership required to achieve sustained success. His experience across school, provincial and professional rugby, together with his record of success, made him the standout candidate.

“We are delighted to welcome Sean to Maties Rugby and look forward to supporting him as we continue building a programme capable of sustained success in the Varsity Cup, USSA and Western Province club competitions.”

Experience talks

Erasmus’s coaching career spans school, provincial and professional rugby, having served as assistant coact of the Emirates Lions and Sharks, head coach of the Lions under-19 and under-21 teams and the Lions SuperSport Rugby Challenge team, as well as coach within the WP Rugby Institute and WP structures.

A respected high-performance coach and player developer, Erasmus has also been SA schools’ coach and girls’ coach, while serving as a WP Craven Week coach.

He has earned a reputation for developing players, building high-performance programmes and creating team cultures that deliver sustained success.

The World Rugby Level 3 coach and World Rugby educator described his appointment an “exceptional privileged and honour” following in the footsteps of the likes of Oubaas Markötter and Danie Craven.

“I look forward to establishing a culture that everybody’s proud of and creating an environment where players can grow and live out their dreams as students at Maties,” Erasmus said. “It is the biggest rugby club after all, and we want to honour that legacy. I am really looking forward to working with everybody and seeing everyone at the Danie Craven Stadium.”

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