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Rudolf Straeuli
Birth name	Rudolf August Wilkens Straeuli
Date of birth	20 August 1963 (age 61)
Place of birth	Pretoria, South Africa
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	110 kg (243 lb; 17 st 5 lb)
School	Die Hoërskool Menlopark
University	University of Pretoria; Stellenbosch University;
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Position(s)	Loose forward
Senior career
Years	Team
1998–1999	Bedford Blues
Provincial / State sides
Years	Team
1990	Northern Transvaal
1993–1996	Transvaal
International career
Years	Team
1994–1995	South Africa
Coaching career
Years	Team
1998–1999	Bedford Blues
1999–2000	Boland
2000–2001	Coastal Sharks
2002–2003	South Africa

Rudolf August Wilkens Straeuli (born 20 August 1963) is a South African rugby union administrator, and a former player and coach. He is currently the CEO of the Lions Rugby Company. He played in the positions of flanker and Number 8, making 10 test appearances for South Africa in 1994 and 1995.^[1] He was the coach of the Springboks rugby team in 2002 and 2003. He also played for the Golden Lions provincial team in the Currie Cup and Super 12 competitions.

Playing career

Straeuli played his first in provincial rugby in 1990 for Northern Transvaal and from 1993 he played for Transvaal. During 1993 he also toured with the South African Barbarians to the United Kingdom.^[2]

Straeuli made his debut for South Africa on 9 July 1994 against the All Blacks, in which he also scored a try. In all he played 10 tests, including representing South Africa in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, before his career ended on 18 November 1995 against England at Twickenham Stadium.

In 1997 he joined the Bedford Blues rugby club in England.^[3]

Coaching career

In 1998 he transitioned from player to coach at Bedford.^[3]

Coastal Sharks

Staeuli coached the Coastal Sharks for the 2001 and 2002 seasons in the Super 12 tournament. In his first season in charge, he led the team to a runner up finish, having finished in last place the season before.^[4]

Springboks

In 2002, Straeuli took over as the head coach of the Springboks. He won his first four games, with two victories over Wales, a 20-point victory over Argentina and a convincing 60–18 defeat of Samoa. However, the team subsequently suffered several defeats against the bigger nations, losing 30–10 to France, 21–6 to Scotland, 53–3 to England and 52–16 to New Zealand during his reign.

He coached the Springboks during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, a campaign that saw South Africa failing to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup for the first time. Straeuli was forced to resign shortly after the tournament when details of his infamous Kamp Staaldraad training camp came to light.^[5]

Overall, Straeuli coached 23 tests and won 52% of them, one of the worst records for a South African coach. He also won only two out of the 17 games played against the top six teams in the world.^{[citation needed]}

Accolades

In 2006 he was inducted into the University of Pretoria Sport Hall of fame.^[6]

References

^ "Rudolf Straeuli". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
^ Van Rooyen, Quintus (1995). S.A. Rugby Writers Annual 1995. SA Rugby Writers' Society. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-620-18922-4.
^ ^a ^b "Rudolf Straeuli factbox". News24. 1 March 2002. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
^ "Straeuli new Springboks coach". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 March 2002. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
^ "Straeuli given one week to explain away Camp Barbed-Wire". Guardian. 28 November 2003. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
^ Mundell, M; van Wyk, J. "TuksAthletics Club – Athletics Hall of Fame Special Awards inductees: 2000-2008". African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences. 18 (1): 46–56. ISSN 2411-6939.