Test rugby coach heads home to try and revive ailing SA rugby school

Pretoria Boys High School, who count 2007 World Cup-winning captain John Smit amongst their alta mater, have brought another former pupil back to South Africa to try and elevate their status in South African schoolboy rugby.

PBHS only won six of their 17 matches this season and have struggled to produce players of the quality of Smit, or their most recent Springbok, fellow hooker Chilliboy Ralepelle, and were recently ranked 43rd by South Africa’s Schoolboy Rugby Blog.

While Gareth Gilbert may not enjoy the same profile as Smit, he has built up an outsdtanding reputation as a coach, in the senior and age-grade international rugby, in both the men’s and women’s games.

The Paarl-born former Botswana international prop has spent the past two decades transforming Dutch rugby, as both a head coach and technical director with Rugby Nederland.

Under his leadership, the Dutch men’s national programme climbed from 45th to 26th in the World Rugby rankings, while the Netherlands U20s won the 2023 Rugby Europe U20 Championship.

Now he returns home to Pretoria Boys High as their new director of rugby, succeeding his former coach, Paul Anthony.

“Pretoria Boys High helped to shape the person I am today. To return to the school that gave me so much is both a privilege and a responsibility in my quest to give back,” said Gilbert.

“I also get to take over the baton from a PBHS legend in Paul ‘The Lion from Lebanon’ Anthony, who coached me in the late 90s and has served the institution with absolute distinction.

“Taking over from him is both nostalgic and a great honour. I am excited to work with our players, coaches and the wider Boys High community to build a programme founded on the red, white and green culture: excellence, strong relationships and a shared commitment to continuous growth.”

First, though, he will oversee the Netherlands Women’s WXV Global Challenger Series fixtures in Hong Kong.

The Dutch will play Samoa, Brazil and Fiji on consecutive weekends in September.

“I’m really looking forward to it. We have had a good 10 weeks of prep and play Scotland A this weekend,” added Gilbert.

“It’s great to finish this part of my journey with such a great group of people.”