Lions promote Wessel Roux as Barend Pieterse joins Junior Springboks

The Lions have looked to within their ranks to replace departing forwards coach Barend Pieterse, with long-serving Wessel Roux stepping into the gap.

Roux has been promoted from the Lions’ junior ranks to take on the role of forwards coach after Pieterse took up a vacancy at the Junior Springboks. The 50-year-old Roux joined the Lions in 2016, serving as head and forwards coach across all junior teams of the Johannesburg-based franchise for nearly a decade.

Roux also served as the Currie Cup forwards coach between 2022 and 2025, reaching the final of the domestic tournament alongside head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi. Roux played three Test matches for the Springboks in 2002 under coach Rudolf Straeuli. The loosehead prop had a career with the Bulls before a finishing stint with French giants Toulon.

Pieterse, a former lock at the Cheetahs, will replace Johan Ackermann, who helped SA Under-20 coach Kevin Foote lead the side to the Junior World Championship earlier this year. Ackermann left the Junior Boks to take over from Jake White at the Bulls.

Pieterse played one match for the Springboks against the Barbarians in 2007. In 2023, he travelled with Namibia to the Rugby World Cup in France as an assistant coach.

“Barend comes highly rated as well as having previously worked with many of the staff in the Junior Springbok system, so there is a natural ‘fit’,” said Dave Wessels, General Manager of High Performance at SA Rugby. “Ackers [Johan Ackermann] provided valuable expertise in 2025, and we’re sure that Barend will provide the same in 2026.”

Pieterse will join the Junior Boks training squad in camp in Stellenbosch in the new year as they begin their 2026 campaign.