Northampton Saints today confirm that Jaco Pienaar has been appointed as the Club’s new Scrum Coach.
The 42-year-old will join the men in Black, Green and Gold this summer ahead of the 2025/26 season, and boasts an impressive coaching resume with stints in South Africa and Japan during his 21-year career to date.
Pienaar began his coaching journey in Potchefstroom, spending over a decade developing young talent at North West University and later coaching the Leopards’ Under-19s in South Africa’s Provincial Championship.
A move to the Bulls beckoned in 2015, with Pienaar named Head Coach of the Under-19s team while also leading the University of Pretoria’s ‘Tuks Young Guns’ side in South Africa’s Varsity Rugby competition.
Pienaar then made the step-up into Super Rugby ahead of the 2017 season – joining the Sharks’ senior coaching set-up in Durban as Forwards Coach for four years – before moving to the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ and spending two years at NEC Green Rockets (Abiko) and two years at Suntory Goliath (Tokyo) in Japan Rugby League One.
Now he will arrive at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens this summer to bring some trademark South African steel to the East Midlands, and Saints’ Director of Rugby Phil Dowson believes Pienaar can bring a new dimension to the Club’s existing coaching group.
“When we met Jaco, he spoke very clearly and succinctly about what he believes is important at scrum time, and he had some really interesting ideas about different facets of the game more broadly as well,” Dowson said.
“So, he’s definitely going to bring more to our coaching set-up than only looking after the scrum, but we felt like his views on the set-piece in particular would really resonate with our group and fit well with our existing coaching philosophy.
“I’ve known Jaco for several years. I visited the Sharks when I first became Saints’ Forwards Coach in 2018, and I was really impressed with him then as a character.”
Phil Dowson, Director of Rugby
“I felt he had a lot to offer, and since then he’s been all over the world and been one of the most driven, development-focused coaches that I’ve come across.
“Matt Ferguson has had a massive impact for us over the last few years in this space, and it was clear to see in the knockout stages of this season’s Investec Champions Cup how well our scrum performed, but change is a natural and positive part of any squad’s evolution.
“You need some variety in the messaging and the environment to keep people engaged and improving, so we felt it was time for a new direction, and I think Jaco will be a huge asset for the Club.”
Pienaar has visited Northampton before, coming over to the East Midlands in 2019 to continue his coaching development by observing Saints’ set-up under former Director of Rugby Chris Boyd.
And the South African is delighted to be returning to cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens in the coming weeks to get to work with the current squad when preseason training begins in July.
He said: “When I visited Northampton previously, I was lucky enough to spend some time with the players and coaching staff, and watch a home game as well – which was amazing.
“Since that time, I had always hoped for the opportunity to come and coach in Northampton. It was clear how much the Club means to its supporters, and that Phil and Sam [Vesty] are very talented coaches, so I am delighted to now get the chance to be a part of Saints on a full-time basis.
“In many ways, Northampton felt like Potchefstroom in South Africa; a town with the rugby club at the heart of the local community. So, I am very excited to arrive over the next few weeks and get started.
“I’ve watched a lot of Premiership rugby over the years, and you know that the set-piece is always going to be important, which is a great challenge for me.”
Jaco Pienaar
“I’ve also been watching a lot of Saints scrums over the last few weeks, and I’m really impressed by the level of fight that the Club’s players show every week. They often get themselves on the front foot at scrum time, and even when things might not be going their way, they have the character and grit to find a way back.
“So, I’m excited to get to work with them, continuing to grow the strong scrum identity already in place, and hopefully enabling them all to improve as a group of forwards next season.”
