Who is Daan Human: Ten things you should know about the Springboks scrum coach

Daan Human is a former Springboks prop who has gone on to enjoy coaching stints at the Cheetahs, Bulls and the South Africa national team.

Here are a few more facts and stats about the Springboks scrum coach.

Ten things you should know about Daan Human

1. Human was born on 4 March 1976 in Bloemfontein.

2. His full name is Daniel Cornelius Francois Human. Everybody in the South African rugby community, however, knows him simply as ‘Daan’.

3. Human attended HTS Louis Botha in Bloemfontein. Only four other alumni – AJ Venter, Raymond Rhule, Oupa Mohoje and Ox Nche – have gone on to represent the Springboks.

4. Human played alongside South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus when he was coming through the ranks at the Free State Cheetahs. The loosehead prop subsequently moved to Cape Town and played 26 Super Rugby matches for the Stormers between 2001 and 2004.

5. Human was drafted into the Springbok side in 2002 and won four Test caps. He started two matches against Wales, and then came off the bench in big wins against Argentina and Samoa.

6. Human moved to Toulouse in 2004 and proceeded to play 169 games over eight seasons for the French giants. Human won two Heineken Cup titles (2005 and 2010) with Toulouse during that period.

Daan Human in action for Toulouse in 2011 (Getty Images)

7. After working with the Cheetahs forwards, Human took the Free State head coach reins in the SuperSport Challenge competition and subsequently in the 2017 Currie Cup.

8. In 2019, he served as a scrum coach at the Cheetahs as well as the Bulls. At that stage, the Cheetahs were competing in the Pro14 and the Bulls in the Super Rugby tournament.

Human eventually joined the Bulls on a more permanent basis, and helped Springbok front-rankers such as Trevor Nyakane and Lizo Gqoboka improve their scrummaging technique.

9. In early 2020, Matt Proudfoot – a scrummaging specialist – left the Springbok coaching set-up to take up a contract with England. Deon Davids was recruited as forwards coach, while Human was named to succeed Proudfoot as the Boks’ scrum doctor.

10. While working with the men’s team is his primary focus, Human has also lent his set-piece expertise to the South African women’s side, who will compete in the next Rugby World Cup.

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