De Bruin left Lions tour due to stress

Cape Town - It has been revealed that the reason for Lions coach Swys de Bruin's return to South Africa was due to stress.

Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli confirmed the news to Netwerk24 and added that professional help would be enlisted after De Bruin admitted that he was struggling to deal with the pressures of the head coaching job.

In a shock revelation late last week, De Bruin returned home to South Africa mere hours before the Lions were due to face the Chiefs in Hamilton.

At the time, the Lions said De Bruin left the tour due to "personal reasons".

Straeuli told the Afrikaans publication that no hasty decisions would be made regarding the future of De Bruin.

"We'll get medical advice as would be the case with any player and there will be an intensive investigation before making a decision on his future. We won't be making a decision within a few days."

Du Bruin signed a two-year contract extension with the Johannesburg-based franchise earlier this month, tying him to the union until 2021.

There were rumours of discontent between De Bruin, Straeuli and Altmann Allers, the vice-chairperson of the union, but the Lions have denied this.

The Lions' conditioning coach, Ivan van Rooyen, took over the coaching duties from De Bruin for the Chiefs match which the Lions won 23-17 in Hamilton on Good Friday.

The Lions entered the match on the back of two disappointing defeats to the Sharks (42-5, Johannesburg) and Brumbies (31-20, Canberra).

Van Rooyen will also be in charge for this Friday's clash against the Crusaders in Christchurch (April 26 - 09:35 SA time).