Fleck joins Province as backline coach

“I’m very excited to be back in the Western Province set up and working with the coaches and athletes again. Province and the Blue and White Hoops have always been part of me and I am looking forward to making a contribution,” commented Fleck

Rob Wagner, Managing Director of WP Rugby (Pty) Ltd confirmed that Fleck would take charge of the backs, whilst Matthew Proudfoot would be in charge of the forwards. Allister Coetzee, who took over from Springbok assistant coach Gary Gold as head coach of the Vodacom WP team in 2008, will remain head coach of the Province side.

Rassie Erasmus remains Senior Professional Coach of the Province and head coach of the Vodacom Stormers, and the decision to bring Fleck on board was done in consultation with both Erasmus and Coetzee. Erasmus will however not be involved in actively coaching the Province team.

Proudfoot has been with WP Rugby at the team’s High Performance Centre since the beginning of the year, giving him an opportunity to get to know the players at both senior and junior level, as well as be involved in the coaching structures.

Fleck earned his stripes as player for the Province, playing in 56 matches in the Blue and White Hoops and 49 matches for the Stormers in the Super 14. He was vice captain of the Springboks on several occasions, tasked with marshalling the backline, and earned 31 Test caps playing in the Green and Gold.

Current captain Jean de Villiers made his Currie Cup debut playing inside Fleck, in his final season for Vodacom WP in 2003.

Since hanging up his boots, Fleck has been involved with coaching at UCT, coaching the University at Varsity Cup level in 2008 and 2009. He also coached the South African Student team as assistant to Matthew Proudfoot.