Confirmed: Jerry Flannery joins Springboks coaching ticket

SOUTH AFRICA-BOUND: Former Ireland hooker and current Harlequins defence coach Jerry Flannery is set to make a mid season move to join former Munster coach Rassie Erasmus in South Africa. Picture: Alan Place 

Former Munster and Ireland hooker and Harlequins coach Jerry Flannery has made a mid-season move to join Rassie Erasmus' Springboks coaching ticket.

Flannery will replace friend Felix Jones - now with England - as the defence coach under the leadership of Erasmus, who has returned to the head coach role following the departure of Jacques Nienaber to Leinster. 

Flannery will leave Harlequins in the coming weeks, with his last game likely to be the friendly against Munster on February 23. 

Flannery, who joined Quins in 2020 and was part of the coaching team that led them to the league title a year later, said in a club statement: "I have loved my time at Harlequins working alongside a talented young group of coaches and players.

"The opportunity to move into international rugby and to work alongside Rassie Erasmus again after our time at Munster was very appealing and I would like to thank Harlequins for supporting my desire to take up this opportunity to develop my career."

Former All Black flyhalf Tony Brown, who served as an assistant coach for Japan from 2016 to the 2023 World Cup and was also the Highlanders head coach in 2017, 2021 and 2022, will focus on attack.

Flannery and Brown will complete the Springbok coaching team which consists of Mzwandile Stick, Deon Davids and Daan Human, as well as Andy Edwards as Head of Athletic Performance.

Renowned international referee Jaco Peyper – who recently announced his retirement from refereeing – joins the team as National Laws Advisor, while double RWC-winning Springbok back-rower, Duane Vermeulen, has also been appointed to a roving coaching role with all SA Rugby’s national teams.

SA Rugby President Mark Alexander welcomed the appointments.

“We are delighted to announce that Rassie Erasmus will take over the reins as the Springbok head coach once again following his success with the team since 2018, and we believe that with the continuity in the coaching structures and the exciting additions, we are in good hands in the ultimate objective of claiming a hat-trick of World Cup titles,” said Alexander.

“Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery are both former international players and bring fantastic coaching experience, and their skills will complement Mzwandile Stick, Deon Davids, and Daan Human.

“It is also a huge coup to have a world class referee in Jaco Peyper as a member of the management team and to retain his expertise in South African Rugby, as understanding the referees and their analysis of the laws is critical to any team’s success.

“We are excited about this Springbok coaching team, and we’ll be thrilled to see how the double World Champions perform once they return to the field for the first time since lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in France last year.”

The Springboks will play Wales in Twickenham in June with two home games against Portugal and Ireland in July, with the Rugby Championship starting in August.