Gerry Posthumus’ Schools Both Hunting New Directors of Rugby

Two of South Africa’s rugby heavyweights are searching for new Directors of Rugby, and there is one intriguing common denominator – respected coach and Maths teacher Gerry Posthumus.

Posthumus has built an outstanding reputation in the classroom and on the training field, but those who have heard him behind the microphone know he is just as impressive in the commentary box. His ability to dissect the game with clarity and insight makes him one of schoolboy rugby’s natural broadcasters. Unfortunately, the demands of coaching Wynberg Boys’ High’s u19A side mean those appearances for main games have become a rarity.

His coaching journey has unexpectedly linked two of the country’s biggest rugby appointments.

Posthumus spent 13 years at St Andrew’s College, leaving at the end of the 2023 season. His departure coincided with that of Director of Rugby Andy Royle, bringing a successful chapter in Grahamstown to a close. Nearly three years later, St Andrew’s are once again in the market for a rugby director.

The following season Posthumus returned to Wynberg Boys’ High, teaming up with head coach Justin van Winkel with Director of Rugby Nic Groom, who had succeeded the highly successful Craig Childs a year earlier.

The partnership quickly paid dividends. Wynberg have enjoyed two outstanding seasons, tightening their grip on Southern Suburbs rugby while establishing themselves among the country’s elite schoolboy rugby programmes.

Now another chapter closes. Groom is leaving school life for a corporate career as Head of Partnerships at Sygnia—a fitting move considering the investment firm’s long-standing association as one of Wynberg’s principal sponsors.

His departure leaves Wynberg searching for a new Director of Rugby, joining St Andrew’s College in what promises to be two of the most closely watched appointments in South African schoolboy rugby.