AB Zondagh: Ten things you should know about Scotland’s assistant coach

AB Zondagh joined Scotland‘s coaching staff in 2021 following Mike Blair’s departure from the national set-up to become Edinburgh head coach.

Ten things you should know about AB Zondagh

1. Alan-Basson Zondagh was born on 7 March 1986 in South Africa.

2. He coached at South African club Sharks and then Toulouse before being appointed to the Scotland set-up in August 2021. His main focus is attack.

3. Zondagh was a skills coach for Toulouse when they became Top 14 and European champions in 2021.

4. Toulouse players were full of praise for Zondagh on social media upon news of his departure from the club. France scrum-half Antoine Dupont said: “Thank you for everything.” Full-back Thomas Ramos said: “Thank you coach!!! Good luck my friend.”

5. He also won the Currie Cup twice with the Sharks.

6. Zondagh jumped at the chance to join Scotland’s coaching staff, saying: “It was a no-brainer really. I am looking forward to adding value to the group and the positive rugby the team play.

“I know rugby at that level comes with high pressure, but that is why we coach because we enjoy the pressure and enjoy winning. I’ll be moving my family to Scotland.”

7. Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend spoke highly of Zondagh when he was appointed. He said: “AB has already had an impressive coaching career in two very different rugby nations. I believe that these experiences, and his approach to coaching, will help us and our players make further progress as we build towards the 2023 Rugby World Cup.”

8. He is the son of former director of rugby at Western Province, the Bulls, Saracens and London Scottish Alan Zondagh.

9. He was in the coaching staff when Scotland beat Australia in the 2021 autumn Internationals.

10. He says that trying to beat South Africa is like trying to crack a code. He told The Scotsman: “I think it took world rugby two years to figure out how to beat South Africa, so it is a Da Vinci code which is slowly being cracked, but the Aussies showed that it is possible to beat them.”

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