| Full name | Deon Horace Davids | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1968-02-11)11 February 1968 (age 57) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Victoria West,South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 102 kg (225 lb; 16 st 1 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Albert Myburgh Secondary School,Bredasdorp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of the Western Cape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Deon Horace Davids (born 11 February 1968 inVictoria West,South Africa) is a South Africanrugby union coach, most recently the head coach of theSouthern KingsPro14 franchise.[1]
Davids played as anumber eight,flanker orlock and spent the majority of his career playing in the Boland Super League, as well as playing for university sideUWC. He played forVillagers Worcester, where he also took over as coach, guiding them to the Boland Super League B title in 1998. He also guided Boland College to a title win in 2002 before he was appointed as the assistant coach toHawies Fourie at provincial sideBoland Cavaliers.[2]
With Davids coaching the forwards, Boland Cavaliers won the Currie Cup First Division in 2003 and 2004 and the Vodacom Shield in 2004. When Fourie left to become the backline coach of theStormers for the 2006Super Rugby campaign, Davids took over as the head coach of theVodacom Cup side,[3] but remained as the assistant to Fourie and Director of RugbyRudy Joubert in theCurrie Cup competition. When Fourie permanently left to join theFree State Cheetahs coaching staff in 2007, Davids was appointed as the head coach of the Boland Cavaliers for the2007 Currie Cup Premier Division,[4] guiding them to seventh spot in the competition. His side reached the quarter-finals of the2007 Vodacom Cup before Davids assistedChester Williams in coaching theEmerging Springboks side to victory in the2008 IRB Nations Cup competition held inRomania.[5] Upon his return to South Africa, he once again helped Boland Cavaliers finish in seventh spot in the2008 Currie Cup Premier Division.
He helped the Boland Cavaliers make another quarter final appearance in the2008 Vodacom Cup, before he was appointed as the assistant to Eric Sauls for theSouth Africa Under-20 team that finished third at the2008 IRB Junior World Championship.[6] The Boland Cavaliers had a disappointing season in the2009 Currie Cup Premier Division and the Boland Rugby Union decided to appoint Chester Williams as their Director of Rugby,[7] effectively marginalising Davids, who had a contract with the union until 2012. Davids left Boland amidst threats of legal action[8] and took over as head coach of university sideUWC, as well as joining the youth selection committee ofWestern Province.[9]
Davids coached UWC in the first everVarsity Shield competition, helping them to finish in third spot in the2011 competition, but left during the competition to join theGolden Lions, becoming head coach of their Vodacom Cup side for the 2012 season, as well as coaching the Under-21 side.[10]
At the end of 2012, Davids returned to theWestern Cape to join theGeorge-basedSWD Eagles as the head coach of their academy, and taking charge of theSWD U21 side.[11] He remained in that role until 2015, when he also assisted the first team, coached byBevin Fortuin.[12] When Fortuin left to join theBlue Bulls at the end of the 2015 season, Davids was appointed as the head coach of the SWD Eagles on a three-year contract.[13][14] Within a week of his appointment, theSouth African Rugby Union announced that Davids would coach thePort Elizabeth-basedSouthern KingsSuper Rugby franchise in the2016 Super Rugby season.[15] He would coach them before returning to the SWD Eagles once the Super Rugby season was completed.[16]