St John’s appoints new head rugby coach
HOUGHTON – Lynch looks forward to coaching St John's to play quick, skilful and entertaining rugby.
St John’s College is excited to announce the appointment of new head rugby coach Katleho Lynch.
Lynch joins the school after the departure of Gerhard Visser at the end of last year, bringing with him a wealth of experience with a coaching career spanning 11 years. In his new role at St John’s, Lynch aims to focus on the development of younger teams as well as the First XV.
Lynch hails from Joburg and began his coaching career at Creston College on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast. He moved back to Joburg thereafter and studied a BA in sports psychology, honours in sports science and a PGCE at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). He also played rugby for the UJ varsity side.
After graduating, Lynch began coaching at St Benedict’s College, working his way up to become the 1st XV head coach, leading them to their famous victory over Jeppe in 2017.
While at St Benedict’s, Lynch was appointed as the school’s provincial coach, while remaining involved at UJ from 2016 to 2018, winning the local league with the U19s in 2016 and back-to-back league titles with the 2nd XV. Based on these successes, he was invited to join the South African Rugby Union’s Elite Player Development (EPU) programme for U17s in 2017.
He then spent a year at Queen’s College in Komani (Queenstown), where he was school counsellor, head of life orientation, a housemaster and the First XV coach.
Reflecting on his selection as head coach for St John’s, Lynch said, “I’m humbled to be coaching and leading rugby at a prestigious school such as St John’s College… My focus will be to align rugby and develop skills of players and coaches across the board.
“I am looking to make sure we don’t deviate from the St John’s brand of rugby. My philosophy is based on tempo. We want to play quick, be skilful, and to entertain. But with the entertainment, we still want results. We also want to bring a defensive philosophy within that attacking brand as well, so I’m excited about that.”
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