SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer confirmed that Swys de Bruin has been re-signed as the head coach of the Springbok Women's team until the next Women's Rugby World Cup in Australia, which is scheduled for 2029. His initial appointment in August 2024 was as a performance coach until the conclusion of the 2025 World Cup.
SA Rugby decided to retain De Bruin as head coach due to the team's historic performance at the 2025 World Cup in England, where they reached the quarter-finals for the first time and broke into the top 10 world rankings. The extension aims to build on that momentum through the next World Cup cycle.
Oberholzer said the extension of de Bruin’s contract will ensure that the boost the women’s game will receive next year, with the start of a professional league, will have a greater impact.
"Swys de Bruin is staying on as the Women’s coach until the next World Cup, so that is a positive step for us. We are moving away from a cycle of coaches coaching for one World Cup cycle, and then we feel it’s important for them to change."
Oberholzer confirmed that SA Rugby is confident of having six professional women’s rugby teams competing in a league in 2026.
"So, we are in the final stages of finalising our professional women’s league that will kick off soon."
"We hope to have six teams that will perform, and we believe that is the first step of all giving our women a fair opportunity to be professional rugby players, but also to prepare them so that when the 2029 World Cup comes around, we’re in a position to win a medal, and that is what we are striving to do."
"We believe that a professional women’s league will dramatically assist us to take our women to the next step, so that they can compete not only for play-offs but for the World Cup title."