Springbok Sevens High Performance Manager, Marius Schoeman, is leaving SA Rugby and will take up a new position as CEO of the SA Rugby Legends Association on 1 November.
Schoeman joined SA Rugby in 2012 and was appointed to his current position in 2018.
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“Marius was an integral part of the success achieved by the Springbok Sevens team, from his early involvement with the Sevens Academy to his more recent role as High Performance Manager, which finished on a high note with the team winning the bronze medal at the recent Olympic Games in Paris,” said SA Rugby’s General Manager for High Performance, Dave Wessels. “Before that, he was part of the system that delivered a historic first bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, three World Series titles, two Commonwealth Games gold medals, and a bronze medal at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2018. A number of academy graduates also played significant roles with other national teams, most notably Kwagga Smith, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse, to name a few. Apart from the playing performances, the Springbok Sevens are widely respected for their strong team culture and value system, and as such, their excellent behaviour off the field as well, another aspect that Marius was instrumental in establishing. Marius will stay involved in a consultancy role with the wider programme, so we will not lose that expertise and experience.”
Schoeman praised SA Rugby for its vision to start the academy programme in 2011.
“They accepted and bought into the vision Neil Powell and myself had for the Springbok Sevens programme, with the academy in Stellenbosch turning out to be the foundation of massive successes by the Blitzboks, who went on to win multiple tournaments around the world and as such, became such great ambassadors for SA Rugby and South Africa,” said Schoeman. “I loved every minute of this journey and based on the recent restructuring at SA Rugby, I feel that it is time to explore avenues where I can further express my passion for development and growth in not only sevens, but rugby in general.”
