Navan's Bok for the future

South African Leon Jordaan has been appointed the new coach of Navan RFC on a three-year contract that officially starts from the 1st June. Jordaan was picked from 45 applicants who had applied for the full-time post to replace Brad Harris. Navan played Banbridge in their final AIL Div 3 game of the season last Saturday which was also Harris's swan song as coach. The Meath side lost the game, 21-27, but the bonus point gained helped them secure eighth place in the Div 3 table, a highly respectable showing in their first term at senior level. Jordaan, who is 37 and comes from the Cape Town area, previously coached Galway side Corinthians, leading them from All-Ireland League Div 3 to Div 2 a few years ago. He is due to meet the Navan players for the first time this Thursday evening. Jordaan's own playing career included spells with Cape Town Harlequines, Hamilton, at teams based in Pretoria and Northern Transvaal u-20s. The South African is employed as a coach with Malahide and brings extensive experience to his new role. "Leon has worked with Jake White, who led South Africa to the last World Cup, and Eddie Jones, the Australian coach. He has a diploma on personal training, a diploma on sports psychology and completed the international level two training course. He is also a graduate of the high performance coaching academy in New Zealand," explained the Navan RFC Director of Coaching Stephen Mackeral who also chaired the committee to find a replacement for Harris. While Jordaan's primary objective will be to get Navan into the AIL Div 2 he will also be closely involved in imparting his knowledge to the other coaches at Balreask Old. Before he takes over his new job Jordaan will spend the next few weeks working with the Namibian national team as they continue their preparations for the 2011 World Cup.