'Huge asset for the club' - Saints bring in scrum coach Pienaar

Pienaar will make the move to Northampton ahead of the 2025/26 season, and he brings with him an impressive coaching resume following stints in South Africa and Japan during his 21-year career to date.

Pienaar began his coaching journey in Potchefstroom, spending more than 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 Sungoliath (Tokyo) in Japan Rugby League One.

The 42-year-old will arrive at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens this summer, replacing Matt Ferguson, who has enjoyed a successful seven-season stint as Saints' scrum guru.

And 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.

“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.”