Coaching shake-up at Sharks

THERE is a coaching shake-up on the cards at the Sharks under new director of rugby Neil Powell and while head coach Sean Everitt is expected to continue for the next year, he will have fresh assistants.

According to reports from Pretoria and France respectively, Bulls defence coach Joey Mongalo is departing Jake White’s team to take up the position that was initially reserved for Powell until the Sharks decided to promote him to the director’s role, while Toulouse forwards coach Yannick Bru will fulfil the same role at the Shark Tank.

Powell is currently coaching the Blitzboks and will take up his new role at the Sharks after the Sevens World Cup in Cape Town in December.

There has been conjecture over Everitt’s future at the Sharks despite his team only just losing to the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals and having qualified for the Heineken Cup next year, but with no announcement about Everitt coming from his employers, one can assume that no news is good news for Everitt. For many, this is great news — he is a good coach with a strong Sharks and Durban DNA and the Sharks need coaching continuity when a brand new director takes over.

It is understood Mongalo will play a vital role under Powell and he was headhunted after enjoying a successful stint at the Bulls which began when Jake White took over in 2020.

In the case of Bru, the former French international hooker has a long-standing relationship with Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee, who played rugby in France with Bru.

The 49-year-old Bru had an advisory role at the Sharks a few years ago and now is set for a more permanent role.

Bru, who was capped 18 times for France between 2001 and 2004, has been an integral part of the coaching set-up at French powerhouse Toulouse.