Western Province under-21 coach, Johnno van der Walt.
Former Motorvaps False Bay RFC head coach and Bergvliet High School standard-bearer, Johnno van der Walt, has added another trophy to his already heavy-laden cabinet, that of 2024 under-21 Currie Cup Champions, a consecutive title as head coach of the Stormers' young guns.
Van der Walt retired as head coach of the Bay at the end of the 2021 SLA season, ending his illustrious club rugby with his second Super League A title in 10 years, to go with the Bay's Gold Cup triumph of 2017, after ending runners-up the season prior.
It heralded the end of the Constantia club's most successful era since its establishment in 1929. That success cascaded across all the Bay's teams, which laid the foundations for its continued success.
Van der Walt's talent as a coach was clearly obvious, and he was brought into the Western Province and Stormers coaching structure almost immediately after retiring his coach’s whistle.
He coached the Stormers U-21 team to a Currie Cup title at the end of 2023 and last Saturday his squad became the first Stormers U-21 team to win back-to-back titles when they secured the title at Ellis Park.
Played over a double-round, six provinces vied for the title. The Bulls, Lions, Sharks, Leopards and Cheetahs clashed with Western Province on a home and away basis, with the top four teams contesting the semi-finals and then down to the two finalists.
WP U-21 ended second on the table with an impressive record of seven wins and three losses. This earned them a home semi-final at City Park against traditional foe, the Bulls. The following week it was into the lair to face the Lions at Ellis Park in a repeat of the 2023 final, which was contested in Cape Town.
The young Lions were unbeaten in the round robin stages and with home ground advantage, were surely favourites to lift the trophy. Van der Walt, a wily strategist, with a high work ethic and steely determination, would have relished the underdog tag, and meticulously have planned his strategy. A title is enticing, but consecutive titles, not done at this level by the Cape Town-based union, were surely a quiet motivation for the Cape boys.
Province U-21 recorded a 53-36 victory, and the double was delivered.
"What makes this season a special achievement is that only a few players remained from 2023", said Van der Walt, "which meant practically the whole squad was new and had to work hard to be in the position to make a final".
Fifty players represented WP U-21 this season from across the peninsula. Players from False Bay, Villagers and Hamilton carried the southern suburbs banner high along with UCT, each playing a role in the success of the team.
Yet this is not the only role Van der Walt fills at the Stormers. With a heady title of “pathway programme head coach and coordinator”, his role is multi-faceted and central to the feeding system and preparedness of players as they are brought into the various tiers at the Stormers.
Tasked with the recruitment of future generations of players from the schoolboy ranks, developing and preparing them for graduation to the senior ranks. Added to this, he formulates the programmes which full-time players are required to follow throughout the calendar year. This may include gym programmes, skills development and integration with the senior Stormers squad in training sessions and non-playing squad games.
The nature of this young talent pool sees the greater concentration of players attending one of the three Cape universities. Ensuring equal development and maintaining similar levels of fitness, strength and skills is a challenge which requires focused attention so as not to create detrimental vacuums in player-development.
This all-important responsibility belongs to Van der Walt, a charismatic, no-nonsense motivator who is not afraid to roll the sleeves up to train alongside his charges if the occasion invites.