SA Rugby have bolstered the Springboks’ backroom staff with the appointment of Joe Lewis in the position of their performance analyst.
Lewis is a former England, Scarlets, and Ospreys technical analyst and he has also worked as Wales’ national age-grade video analyst and Taranaki Rugby Football head analyst.
He served in his role as England’s head analyst from 2017 to 2021 and as the team’s senior analyst from 2022 until the conclusion of their recent Six Nations campaign.
The Welshman holds a master’s degree in performance analysis from Cardiff Metropolitan University and a degree in sports management from the University of South Wales.
Will join the Boks ahead of Barbarians clash
He is set to join the Springboks ahead of the upcoming international season, which will get underway against the Barbarians in Gqeberha on Saturday, June 20.
Following that encounter, South Africa will participate in two new exciting competitions in the Nations Championship and Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against their arch-rivals, New Zealand.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus is looking forward to Lewis joining the world champions’ coaching staff.
“We are delighted to welcome Joe to the Springbok team,” he said.
“Given his vast experience in technical and performance analysis at international and club level, we believe he will add great value to the squad as we prepare for a busy and exciting season, and further ahead to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
‘He’ll slot into our set-up seamlessly’
“His roles have seen him gain invaluable experience at the highest level of the game – at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, in the Six Nations competition, and Autumn Nations Cup, among other big tournaments, and we have no doubt he’ll slot into our set-up seamlessly.”
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After their clash with the Barbarians, the Springboks will host England in Johannesburg (July 4), Scotland in Pretoria (July 11), and Wales in Durban (July 18) in the inaugural Nations Championship.
The Boks will then meet Argentina in Buenos Aires on August 8 before participating in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks during August and September.
This will be followed by an away Test against the Wallabies in Australia (27 September).
The second leg of the Nations Championship kicks off in Europe at the end of the year and the Boks will then face Italy (November7), France (November 13), and Ireland (November 21), before that tournament’s finals weekend takes place in in London from November 27 to 29.
READ MORE: World Rugby chief admits Springboks schedule ‘not sustainable’ as global calendar admissions made