JP Pietersen is a coach who understands only too well the popular adage that, ‘If he’s good enough, he’s old enough’ when referring to young rugby players thrust into the spotlight of senior rugby.
Currently in his second stint of Carling Currie Cup rugby as head coach, he helped deliver the title to the Hollywoodbets Sharks last year and looks to have a long, distinguished and successful career ahead.
As a young player, his star shone brightly after making his senior debut for the Durban side as a 19-year-old, going on to feature for the Springboks for over a decade and playing in his first test after turning just 20. At 21 years of age, he is one of the youngest Rugby World Cup winners, playing in the Springbok side that won the Webb Ellis Cup in 2007, his try-scoring exploits in the Super 14 earlier that year ensuring his value for the Boks.
So he understands absolutely what it takes to play at the highest level, particularly for youngsters, many of whom he’s worked with in the junior ranks.
“We see this Carling Currie Cup campaign as an opportunity to breed youngsters and to build depth in our squad,” he explains. “Our main focus, and we’ve made no secret of this, is that we want to win the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and the Investec Champions Cup.
“Our philosophy is if you play for the Hollywoodbets Sharks, you want to win every game, that’s always been our goal and the Carling Currie Cup is not a development competition, we’re representing the union and we need to perform.
“We’re the defending champions and we take our defence of the trophy seriously.” Having excelled as a player, he acknowledges that there is probably as much hard work that goes into playing the game as coaching the next generation of stars. “Coaching is a different beast to playing, but if you love the game and you’re passionate about it, you can go far in the coaching space,” he admits.
“You have to be open to learning and to listen to other people if you want to grow. “For me, starting at a junior level with the under 19s was a great start for me to learn and to actually find out if coaching was really for me.
“I found that I am really passionate about it and I do love coaching. I’m still young in this gig, I’m learning a lot and I’m excited for what the future holds.”