Kings coach to join Coetzee in Japan

Cape Town - Southern Kings forwards coach Barend Pieterse has agreed to join Japanese club Canon Eagles where former Springbok coach Allister Coetzee is in charge.

Pieterse told Netwerk24 that Coetzee recently contacted him to offer him the job as the Japanese club’s forwards coach.

“I thought long and hard and decided it’s time for something different,” Pieterse said.

The 39-year-old Pieterse had a distinguished playing career as a lock.

He played for the Lions early in his career before joining the Cheetahs in 2005.

He left the Cheetahs in 2010 to join the Kings where he started his coaching tenure three years later.

Pieterse never played a Test but represented the Springboks in one match - against the Barbarians in London in December 2007.

Coetzee joined the Canon Eagles as head coach in March shortly after being sacked as Springbok coach.

For years, Coetzee had Matt Proudfoot as his assistant but the latter's decision to stay with SA Rugby has necessitated the former Bok mentor to look elsewhere for a forwards guru.