The Lions have invested in defence, signing a key member of the coaching staff to a two-year extension.
During a wide-ranging press conference on Friday afternoon, Lions chief executive Rudolf Straeuli confirmed that Jaque Fourie has put pen to paper on a new two-year contract with the union.
The 2007 World Cup winner has helped bolster the Lions defence since being appointed as part of a coaching staff overhaul in September 2021.
News of Fourie’s extension followed questions to Straueli over head coach Ivan van Rooyen’s future, which the Lions boss was not willing to discuss. Reports in the media suggest that Van Rooyen has also extended his stay by two years, with his current deal set to expire in October.
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“We are in contract talks and it is highly confidential,” Straueli said. “We are busy looking into our budget as well as extending the contracts of players, coaches and staff. It is an ongoing process and as soon as a contract has been extended, it will be announced.
“We have extended the contract of Jaque Fourie for another two years.”
With six matches remaining in their league schedule, the Lions are 12th in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship with a 5-7 record.
Straueli said that the Lions management is comfortable with the progress that the team has made under Van Rooyen, despite his 39% win rate since being appointed head coach
“It’s hard to single out any one coach or person. We have confidence in him and have grown him as a young coach,” said Straueli. “Everyone has KPIs and we are in the process of achieving those. Ivan still has a year on his contract. We are confident that in the following games that we will reach what we want to do.
“We are happy with where we are in the Challenge Cup. We have set the goal of getting into the top eight of the URC. We have to win the following games at home. Collectively, we are not happy with our results on the recent tour. However, there were difficult conditions and it is unfair to single out one tour, as we went unbeaten on the first tour earlier in the season. We play Racing 92 soon in the Challenge Cup. We know what we have to change to get success.
“We are comfortable that we are going in the right direction.”
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