| Born | (1967-10-06)6 October 1967 (age 58) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | Bergvlam High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Pretoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heyneke Meyer (born 6 October 1967) is a professionalrugby union coach, best known for coaching theSpringboks from 2012[1] until 2015.[2] Prior to coaching the Springboks, he spent many years at the domestic level in South Africa before coachingLeicester Tigers inEngland. Following his stint with the Boks, he also coachedStade Français. On 8 July 2021 he was announced as the new Director of Rugby for theHouston Sabercats of MLR.
Meyer attendedBergvlam High School in Nelspruit before studying sports psychology at theUniversity of Pretoria. He obtained various degrees after high school life, including BA (Psychology, Geography and Human Movement Science), Hons BA (Geography).
Meyer, who studied atUniversity of Pretoria, played for the university's rugby team, the Tukkies. He took on a player-coaching role with the team, and upon graduating in 1988, he took on a full-time role with the team. He coached various High School and Under-21 teams inPretoria, before joining theSWD Eagles in theCurrie Cup in 1997.[3] He first started as an assistant coach with the team underPhil Pretorius, before being given the reigns of head coach in 1998. In his debut year, he led the team to the semi-finals during the1998 Vodacom Cup, losing to theGolden Lions 31–19. He also improved their positioning in the Currie Cup, finishing seventh after the regular season. In 1999, the Eagles failed to make the semi-finals in theVodacom Cup, though made the semi-finals of the Currie cup, defeating South African powerhousesSharks andWestern Province along the way. In addition to this, Meyer was an assistant coach toAlan Solomons at theStormers during the1999 Super 12 season, in which the Stormers finished second on the table after the regular season, before being beaten 33–18 in the semi-final by theOtago Highlanders. Haven been appointed head coach of the Bulls for the2000 Super 12 season, taking over fromEugene van Wyk, Meyer stood down from his post with the Eagles.
While at the Bulls, the side finish second to last, with only 1 win to their name, and at theBlue Bulls, acting as Assistant coach due to his Springboks commitments, 2000 was the worst season ever for the team, having failed to qualify for the top eight of the Currie Cup. In 2001, he replaced Eugene van Wyk, at the Blue Bulls, while also being dismissed from his post with the Bulls in theSuper 12 due to poor results in 2000. He led the Blue Bulls to their firstVodacom Cup title, beatingBoland Cavaliers 42–24 in the final. He didn't take part in the Blue Bulls Currie Cup campaign that year due to his Springboks commitments, though returned to Pretoria in 2002 as full-time coach with the Bulls at Super 12 and Currie Cup. The Bulls finished last during the2002 Super 12 season with no wins, and like in 2000, with dismissed from his post.[4] He remained with the Blue Bulls which he reach two consecutive Vodacom Cup semi-finals in 2003 and 2004, and claimed three consecutive Currie Cup titles in 2002, 2003 and 2004.[5]
He returned to the Bulls in 2005 where the Bulls finished third after the regular season, only to lose to theNew South Wales Waratahs 23–13 in the semi-final. In 2006 they reached the semi-final again but lost to theCrusaders 35–15. It wasn't until 2007 when the Bulls made it to the final, defeating South African rivals theSharks 20–19 inDurban. Meyer's final actions in Pretoria was during the2007 Currie Cup Premier Division, where after the regular season, the Blue Bull finished 4th, but lost to theFree State Cheetahs 11–6 in the semi-final.
On 30 June 2008, he was named head coach ofLeicester Tigers inEngland.[6] His stint in England was short, having won 9 matches with his new team, he took compassionate leave from his Tigers post to attend to family matters in South Africa, only to fully stand down from his post on 28 January 2009.[7]
He later took up an executive role with the Blue Bulls in Pretoria.
Meyer made his first international appearance as a coach in 1999 when he coached theEmerging Springboks. He later became forwards coach for the Springboks ahead of the1999 Rugby World Cup. South Africa finished top of their group, and made it to the semi-final after beating England 44–21. Though in the semi-final, South Africa lost to Australia after extra time, 27–21. He remained with the Springboks between his club commitments, until 2001, when he returned to Pretoria as a full-time coach with the Bulls and Blue Bulls.
In January 2012, Heyneke Meyer was named head coach of South Africa on a 4-year term until after the2015 Rugby World Cup. His first match in charge was 1 of three tests against England during theSouth African tour. He won the first two tests 22–17 and 36–27 respectively, but drew the final test 14–all. He later led South Africa to third in the2012 Rugby Championship, opening with a win at Newlands and a draw in Buenos Aires against newcomers.Argentina. South Africa pushed theWallabies in Perth, but lost 26–19, before going down 21–11 to theAll Blacks. Meyer gained revenge over Australia on 29 September, beating them 31–8 in Pretoria, though lost to New Zealand 32–16 inJohannesburg the following week. Their victory over Australia saw the Springboks climb to second in theIRB World Rankings for the first time since 2010. During the Springboks2012 End-of-year tour, Meyer led South Africa to their first clean sweep since 2008, defeatingIreland 16–12,Scotland 21–10 andEngland 16–15.
In 2013, South Africa claimed 6 consecutive victories, which included a first ever victory over Australia atSuncorp Stadium inBrisbane. Then on 5 October, Meyer led South Africa into the2013 Rugby Championship decider against the All Blacks, though ultimately lost 38–27.[8] South Africa later went on to record another clean sweep on theirEnd-of-year tour, their first back to back clean sweeps since their 1996 and 1997 End-of-year tour clean sweeps.
In 2014, having claimed a 2–0test series victory overWales, South Africa went on to beat the All Blacks for the first time since 2011, winning 27–25 atEllis Park Stadium. Though because of their 24–23 loss to Australia in round 3, South Africa finished second for the second consecutive year. While on their2014 end-of-year tour, South Africa lost 2 matches, Ireland 29–15 and Wales 12–6, the Welsh loss being their first since 1999.
In 2015, Meyer came under pressure having lost all2015 Rugby Championship matches, including a first ever loss to Argentina 37–25, at home. He was called a "racist" in the media due to the lack of "black" players being selected, which even led to the team being taken to court, with their position at the2015 Rugby World Cup under threat.[9] Meyer got his first win in 2015, and in 4 matches, against Argentina in aRugby World Cup warm-up match inBuenos Aires, winning 26–12.[10]
In their first game of the2015 Rugby World Cup, Meyer coached the Springboks in their first ever game againstJapan, then ranked 13th in theWorld Rugby Rankings. The Brave Blossoms convincingly outplayed the Springboks, beating them 34–32 with a try in the corner, deep into injury time.[11] Heyneke Meyer, often criticized for favouring "experience over talent", made a public apology to the South African nation for this loss, admitting that the team's performance was "unacceptable".[12] Despite that opening loss, South Africa went on to finish third, winning all their remaining matches in their pool; Samoa 46–6, Scotland 34–16 and the United States 64–0, to secure top place in their pool. They beat Wales 23–19 in the quarter-finals, however lost to New Zealand 20–18 in the semi-final. They faced Argentina in the Bronze Final, securing a 24–13 victory to claim the bronze medal.
Meyer initially stated that he wished to remain as coach, but a number of provincial unions stated they would oppose handing Meyer a contract extension[13] – with the team's style of play and lack of transformation being cited as reasons for this opposition[2] – and Meyer subsequently resigned from his post as Springbok coach on 3 December 2015.[14]
Note: World Rankings Column shows the World Ranking South Africa was placed at on the following Monday after each of their matches
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Win ratio (%) | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 078 | 259 | 151 |
 Australia | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 057 | 167 | 88 |
 England | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 080 | 119 | 101 |
 France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 19 | 10 |
 Ireland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050 | 31 | 41 |
 Italy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 66 | 16 |
 Japan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000 | 32 | 34 |
 New Zealand | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 013 | 124 | 179 |
 Samoa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 102 | 29 |
 Scotland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 168 | 49 |
 United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 64 | 0 |
 Wales | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 080 | 116 | 80 |
| TOTAL | 48 | 32 | 2 | 14 | 067 | 1313 | 841 |
South Africa(as assistant coach)
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | South Africa National Rugby Union Coach 2012–2015 | Succeeded by |
