David Wessels

David Wessels
Date of birth1982 (age 41–42)
Place of birthCape Town, Cape Province, South Africa
SchoolSt Stithians College
UniversityUniversity of Cape Town
Rugby union career
Coaching career
Years Team
2008–2009 Stormers (consultant)
2009–2011 UCT Ikey Tigers (assistant)
2012–2013 Brumbies (consultant)
2014–2016 Western Force (assistant)
2014 Perth Spirit
2016–2017 Western Force
2017–2021 Melbourne Rebels

David Wessels (born 1983[1]), is a South African-Australian professional rugby union football coach. He is currently General Manager of High Performance at SA Rugby.[2]

He was previously head coach of the Melbourne Rebels team that compete in the Super Rugby competition.[3] Before moving to Melbourne, Dave became the youngest head coach in Super Rugby history[4] when he was appointed head coach at the Western Force,[5] in Perth and co-head coach of the Perth Spirit in Australia's National Rugby Championship.[6] South African born, Wessels is a naturalised Australian citizen.[7]

Wessels was born in Cape Town, South Africa, he then moved to Johannesburg where he attended St Stithians College before enrolling at Cape Town University where he completed a Masters in Information Technology.[8] He was a defensive consultant under Rassie Erasmus[9] to the Super Rugby team the Stormers in 2008 and 2009, before being appointed as an assistant coach at UCT (Ikeys) in the Varsity Cup from 2009 to 2011.[10]

He moved to Australia as an assistant coach[11] to the Brumbies under head coach Jake White in 2012, and had a significant influence on the rejuvenated Brumbies with the team conceding the fewest points in the Australian Conference and the second least in the Super Rugby competition.[12][13] He joined the Western Force as the senior assistant coach for the 2013 Super Rugby season.[10][13] Wessels was appointed, alongside Kevin Foote, as co-head coach of the Perth Spirit winning the inaugural season of Australia's National Rugby Championship in 2014.[6]

Wessels became the caretaker head coach of the Western Force for the last three games of 2016, before being appointed as head coach for the 2017 Super Rugby season.[5]

Following the Australian Rugby Union's decision to exclude the Force from Super Rugby after the 2017 season,[14] Wessels joined the Melbourne Rebels as head coach in September 2017, signing a two-year deal with the team.[3] He coached the team for three and a half seasons before departing ahead of the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition in 2021.[15]

Wessels then returned to Cape Town and was appointed as Head of Rugby[16] for the DHL Stormers,[17] overseeing a very successful period at the club which saw them win the inaugural URC (United Rugby Championship) competition and host the final in back-to-back seasons. He was headhunted for the role at SA Rugby[18] by two-time World Cup winning coach Rassie Erasmus.

Wessels holds various club records, including 'most winning seasons[19][20]' at his previous three clubs (Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and DHL Stormers)

References

  1. ^ Butler, Lynn. "Dave Wessels backed by Rassie, leaves WP role to be SA Rugby's general manager". Sport. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  2. ^ Butler, Lynn. "Dave Wessels backed by Rassie, leaves WP role to be SA Rugby's general manager". Sport. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Rebels appoint David Wessels as new Head Coach" (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. 29 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Wessels packs brains in the SA Rugby set-up". IOL. 17 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b "David Wessels Appointed Head Coach of the Western Force" (Press release). Western Force. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Spirit unveils coaching squad for Buildcorp NRC" (Press release). RugbyWA. 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  7. ^ "One Percenters: Rebels emerge as Slipper's possible new home". Rugby.com.au. 12 August 2018. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Wessels packs brains in the SA Rugby set-up".
  9. ^ Butler, Lynn. "Dave Wessels backed by Rassie, leaves WP role to be SA Rugby's general manager". Sport. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Coaching Staff". WA Rugby. 2014. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  11. ^ Butler, Lynn. "Dave Wessels backed by Rassie, leaves WP role to be SA Rugby's general manager". Sport. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  12. ^ Barbeler, David (27 April 2013). "Wessels switch means same old line in defence". The Canberra Times. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Force snare SA defence coach". Sport 24. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  14. ^ "Force cut after arbitration finds in favour of ARU" (Press release). Australian Rugby Union. 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Club Update: Wessels Stands Down as Melbourne Rebels Head Coach" (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  16. ^ on, Published (16 March 2024). "Wessels lands top job with SA Rugby". SA Rugby magazine. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  17. ^ "All you need to know: Vodacom URC Grand Final". The Stormers. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  18. ^ Butler, Lynn. "Dave Wessels backed by Rassie, leaves WP role to be SA Rugby's general manager". Sport. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Stormers weather Bulls' early onslaught to win inaugural URC title". 18 June 2022.
  20. ^ "History | Rugby Victoria". vic.rugby. Retrieved 16 May 2024.