Strudwick keen for Currie Cup campaign
While Sean Everitt has been at the Currie Cup coaching coalface for a number of seasons, he joins newcomer Ryan Strudwick under head coach Gary Gold for the upcoming domestic showpiece.
Everitt will continue as backline coach while Strudwick comes in as the new forwards coach after former head coach Brad Macleod-Henderson left the Union last month.
Strudwick has been involved in the Sharks coaching setup for the better part of a decade – mainly working with the Union’s age-group sides. His most recent accolade was helping the UKZN Impi to their maiden Varsity Shield title this year.
Strudwick played for English sides Harlequins and London Irish between 1997 and 2006.
His inclusion in the coaching setup seems a no-brainer as the Sharks’ squad features a number of upcoming youngsters from the junior ranks. Having worked with many of the more senior players as well as the new crop of players, Strudwick is excited to finally step into the senior setup.
“I was enjoying my role here heading up the juniors, there are a great bunch of players coming through and this was an opportunity one can’t turn down. I’ve been involved in the setup on and off for 7 to 8 years, it’s an opportunity you take with both hands and give it a full go,” Strudwick said yesterday.
A World Cup year provides a chance for younger players to stake a claim within the squad while the Sharks national players look to bring the Webb Ellis trophy back home.
Strudwick believes working with players of different ages and experience levels should be fairly straight-forward given his track record.
“For me, there’s not much difference between working with juniors or seniors. I’ve worked with most of the guys in the Currie Cup squad anyway, and Sean and I have worked with them in the past at Under 19 and Under 21 level.”
“There are a couple of new guys who I haven’t dealt with before, but that’s an opportunity to see how they have developed from U19s all the way through. They’re used to the way I coach, they responded nicely to me before and hopefully they carry on with the same kind of mindset. It’s an opportunity to develop them even further and get them to higher honours,” Strudwick said.
While a number of young players could get a crack in the Currie Cup, Strudwick believes many of the young squad members could benefit from another season of age-group rugby.
“There are a great bunch of youngsters coming through but most are still under 20 and are about a year out from senior Currie Cup. They need a good season of under 20 and then we will have nice pickings,” Strudwick said.
“But there are a few we could quite easily use. The Du Preez brothers are ready to be blooded, for instance, as well as Johan du Toit (younger brother of Pieter-Steph). There are a number of under 20s with the potential to play Super Rugby but we don’t want to push them to soon.”
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