Sean Erasmus takes over at Maties rugby
Sean Erasmus former coach of the Paarl Boys’ High rugby team, has been appointed as the new head coach of Maties Rugby.
Erasmus joins Maties following an outstanding tenure as head coach of Paarl Boys’ High School, where he established one of South Africa’s leading school rugby programmes. His coaching career spans school, provincial and professional rugby, having served as Emirates Lions Super Rugby Assistant Coach, Lions Currie Cup Assistant Coach, Lions U19 and U21 Head Coach, Lions SuperSport Rugby Challenge Head Coach, Sharks Assistant Coach, and coach within the Western Province Rugby Institute and Western Province structures.
A respected high-performance coach and player developer, Erasmus has also represented South African rugby as a South African Schools Coach and South African Schools Girls Coach, while serving as a Western Province Craven Week coach. Over more than a decade, he has earned a reputation for developing players, building high-performance programmes and creating team cultures that deliver sustained success.
A World Rugby Level 3 Coach and World Rugby Educator, Erasmus will officially commence his role on 1 September 2026 ahead of the 2027 Varsity Cup season, but will remain involved with the school until the end of the year.
“It really is an exceptional privilege and honour to be the new Maties head coach; to follow in the footsteps of great coaches like Oubaas Markötter, Danie Craven and even more recently some of the coaches that have come through the system. More than that, I look forward to establishing a culture that everybody’s proud of and creating an environment where players can grow and live out their dreams as students at Maties. It is the biggest rugby club after all and we want to honour that legacy. I am really looking forward to working with everybody and seeing everyone at the Danie Craven Stadium,” Erasmus said.
Drikus Hancke, Head of Rugby at Maties Sport, said the appointment followed an extensive and highly competitive recruitment process.
“Sean is one of the country’s most respected high-performance coaches, with a proven track record of building successful programmes and developing people. Throughout the recruitment process it became clear that his coaching philosophy aligns strongly with the values and ambitions of Maties Rugby.
“What distinguished Sean was his ability to build strong team cultures, develop players and provide the programme leadership required to achieve sustained success. His experience across school, provincial and professional rugby, together with his record of success, made him the standout candidate. We are delighted to welcome Sean to Maties Rugby and look forward to supporting him as we continue building a programme capable of sustained success in the Varsity Cup, USSA and Western Province Club Rugby competitions.”
Erasmus has compiled an exceptional record of 153 wins in 185 matches during his tenure with Boys’ High, building a powerhouse program and achieving a legendary 43-match winning streak.
A remarkable 42 players under his guidance went on to represent SA Schools, with several going on to represent South Africa, including Salmaan Moerat, who captained the Springboks in recent years.