The Vodacom Bulls will interview two candidates in the search to find a replacement for Jake White as director of rugby at Loftus Versfeld.
According to Rapport, the Pretoria-based franchise plans to make a final decision before Monday, 21 July, with interviews scheduled to take place next week.
White officially parted ways with the Bulls on 4 July, following a post-season review. The 61-year-old’s position had come under heavy scrutiny after reports emerged that senior players and coaches had threatened to leave the union if he remained in his role.
Both Johann van Graan and Jacques Nienaber are reportedly unavailable due to long-term contracts with overseas clubs. Van Graan recently extended his deal with Bath through to 2030, while Nienaber is contracted to Leinster until June 2026.
That leaves Johan Ackermann and Franco Smith as the two men still in the running for one of the top jobs in South African rugby.
Ackermann is currently at the World Rugby U20 Championship with the Junior Springboks as a coaching consultant. The 55-year-old, who coached the Lions to back-to-back Super Rugby finals before stints in England and Japan, has been offered a contract extension by SA Rugby but coaching the Bulls would be more appealing.
Smith, who coached Glasgow to the Vodacom URC title in 2023-24 by beating the Bulls in the final at Loftus, is contracted to the Warriors and Scottish Rugby until June 2026. He is also regarded by some as the likely successor to Gregor Townsend as Scotland head coach.
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Smith is currently in South Africa to watch his sons, Jean (Sharks) and Franco Jnr (Cheetahs) play in the Currie Cup.
“I see in the newspapers and media there is so much speculation,” he said on Rapport’s Praat Sport podcast. “I’m still under contract with Scotland … It’s nice and I really appreciate being named in that company. It’s a privilege. We’ll see how things play out.”
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