Former Bok scrumhalf to coach Maties in Varsity Cup

Former Springbok scrumhalf Norman Jordaan will be the Maties head coach in the upcoming Varsity Cup.

Jordaan, 46, replaces Drikus Hancke, who will focus on his head of rugby position at the university.

Jordaan, who represented the Bulls and Toulon in France, played one Test for the Springboks against England in 2002. He has been in the Maties coaching structures for some time.

He will be assisted by another former one-Test Springbok, Kabamba Floors. The former Blitzboks star is also the forwards coach of Western Province's Currie Cup team.

Meanwhile, former Cheetahs speedster Eddie Fredricks has been named head coach of the Maties Young Guns, with Pieter van Rooyen his assistant.

"We are very happy with the way the preparations are going. We have not had a lot of injuries and have been training with almost a full squad for most of the time. The players and the management have been working hard," Hancke told the Maties Sport website.

"The players are well conditioned and we are excited to move into the next phase, from next week we will be playing friendlies. This will give us a better idea of where we are and give the players some much needed match condition training before the tournament starts. Competition is fierce in a lot of positions so it will also be important for the players to put up their hands for selection."

Maties will open their 2022 Varsity Cup campaign away against defending champions, Tuks, in Pretoria next Monday (14 February).