Three of the eight Investec Champions Cup quarter-finalists are headed by South African coaches, writes LINDIZ VAN ZILLA.
Johann van Graan (Bath head coach), Franco Smith (Glasgow Warriors head coach) and Jacques Nienaber (Leinster senior coach, under head coach Leo Cullen) will lead their teams into battle this weekend.
In the round of 16, six teams (38%) were coached by South Africans, with Sean Everitt (Edinburgh), John Dobson (Stormers) and Johan Ackermann (Vodacom Bulls) also in charge.
Johann van Graan (Bath)
Van Graan has overseen a remarkable turnaround in fortunes since taking charge in 2022.
The 46-year-old has helped re-establish Bath as one of England’s leading teams, delivering silverware to a success-starved club.
Van Graan admitted he was shocked when he started, describing Bath “broken as a club”.
Nevertheless, he slowly rebuilt Bath, taking them back into the Champions Cup and the knockout stage.
Bath responded by tying him down to a new six-year contract until 2029-30.
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Success followed in an historic 2024-25 season when Bath won the treble, including the Premiership Cup (their first silverware in 17 years), the Premiership and the EPCR Challenge Cup.
Bath currently sit second on the Premiership log, one point behind the Northampton Saints, who they face at The Rec on Friday night.
The detail-orientated Van Graan is complemented by defence coach JP Ferreira, who came up through the coaching ranks at the Lions before joining Van Graan at Munster and now Bath.
Keo heaps praise on Johann van Graan and what he has achieved at Bath.#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/KCMTlt8dnu
— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) April 3, 2026
Jacques Nienaber (Leinster)
The World Cup-winning former Springbok coach has brought his renowned defensive nous and tactical discipline to the four-times Champions Cup winners.
Nienaber made an immediate impact following his move from the Springboks after the 2023 World Cup by adding an aggressive defensive edge and increased physicality to a world-class squad.
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Leinster are the URC champions, having defeated the Bulls in last season’s final. But they are judged by success in Europe and in the two most recent editions the Irish giants have fallen short at the final and semi-final hurdles respectively.
The pressure is on Nienaber to deliver European glory, but if there is a man who knows what it takes to deliver success on the biggest of stages it is the World Cup winner.
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Franco Smith (Glasgow Warriors)
The former Springbok flyhalf has transformed unfashionable Glasgow into a genuine powerhouse.
He arrived in the UK around the same time as Van Graan and his impact has been equally astounding.
Smith guided the Warriors to a URC title in 2023-24 when they famously overcame the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
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Smith has gained plaudits for establishing a dynamic, attack-minded approach without sacrificing forward dominance.
Glasgow defeated the Bulls in the last-16 of the Champions Cup and next face Toulon – conquerers of the Stormers – in a home quarter-final.
Glagow also top the URC log.
Bordeaux Bègles
Bordeaux breezed through the Champions Cup pool stage before thrashing an understrength Leicester Tigers 64-14 in the round of 16 and are looking to defend the title they won for the first time last season.
In the French corner are two South Africans with Springbok pedigree – Shaun Sowerby is the forwards coach and Heini Adams the skills coach under head coach Yannick Bru.
Photos: David Rogers/Ian MacNicol/Gordon Arons/Getty Images/Gallo Images
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