Richie Gray joins Springboks to coach breakdown

SOUTH Africa have hired Scottish coach Richie Gray to improve their breakdown technique, pitting the Borderer in opposition to Scotland this autumn.

The 43-year-old from Galashiels has become a respected figure in the southern hemisphere for his expertise in what has become a key aspect of the modern game, the tackle contest or “breakdown”.

His studies led to his invention of the “Collision King”, which he sold to Rhino and has been bought by many Super 15 sides and international teams, including England and South Africa.

Gray had travelled across New Zealand, Australia and South Africa studying their approaches and, since producing the new machine, has racked up the air miles demonstrating it. Now, South Africa head coach Heyneke Meyer, who first met Gray when opposing him as a coach on a Scottish tour a decade ago, has invited him to join his staff for the upcoming Rugby Championship against the All Blacks, Wallabies and Argentina, and the end-of-year tour to the UK, when they will play Scotland.

Gray joined the Springboks training camp in Johannesburg on Monday and Meyer insisted that he believed his input would play a key role in returning South Africa to No 1 in the world.

“There are between 120 and 160 rucks in every game and last year we’ve seen that it’s an area of the game where we can vastly improve,” he said.

“Richie brings a lot of knowledge on the breakdowns and I’m confident he will be able to add a lot of value in the coming months. I’ve known Richie for a decade and I have always been very impressed with his level of dedication when it comes to ruck play.”

Gray said: “I’m delighted to be here and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot. It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to working closely with the Boks day in, day out.”