Ivan van Rooyen

Last updated

Ivan van Rooyen
Born (1982-05-07) 7 May 1982 (age 43)
South Africa
University University of Johannesburg
Rugby union career
Position Head coach
Current team Lions
Coaching career
YearsTeam
2009–2018 Golden Lions (Strength & Conditioning Coach)
2009–2018 Lions (Strength & Conditioning Coach)
2018– Golden Lions
2018– Lions (Assistant coach)
2019-present Lions (Head Coach)

Ivan van Rooyen (born 1981/82) is a South African professional rugby union football coach. He was short-term head coach of the Lions team that played in the Super Rugby competition. [1] He is also the coach of the Golden Lions team that competes in the Currie Cup. [2] [3] Later he was made permanent head coach of Lions, he remains head coach as of 2022. The Lions now compete in the United Rugby Championship.

Contents

Career and Contract Information

Cash van Rooyen climbed through the coaching ranks at the Lions Rugby Union; based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He started at the union in 2009 as a sport scientist and became Performance Excellence Manager in 2018. He became permanent head coach in 2019. [4]

Rumours circulated in February 2023 that van Rooyen's contract was up for renewal. Despite achieving a win rate of less than 40%, his contract was expected to be "more lucrative than John Dobson", [5] who won the United Rugby Championship in the 2021/22 season with the DHL Stormers. [6] In the same season the Emirates Lions failed to make the playoffs, finishing 12th out of the 16 team competition. [7]

Mzwake Nkosi took over his Currie Cup duties from 2024, whereby Nkosi was able to achieve a Runner-Up finish for the Fidelity ADT Lions. However, in the middle of the 2025 season, van Rooyen can back and replaced Mzwake Nkosi to achieve a runner up finish, loosing to the Suzuki Griquas.

Career statistics

Head Coach

Managerial Statistics and Performance
UnionTeamSeasonLeagueWinsDrawsLossesTotalWin %
Lions Rugby Union Golden Lions2019 Currie Cup 503862.50
Golden Lions2020 [8] Currie Cup 6241250.00
Emirates Lions2020 [9] Super Rugby Unlocked 204633.33
Golden Lions2021 [10] Currie Cup 2371216.67
Emirates Lions2021/22 [11] United Rugby Championship 80101844.44
Golden Lions2022 [10] Currie Cup 20101216.67
Emirates Lions2022/23 [11] United Rugby Championship 9091850.00
Emirates Lions2022/23 [12] EPCR Challenge Cup 312650.00
Fidelity ADT Lions2023 [13] Currie Cup 6081442.86
Emirates Lions2023/24 [14] United Rugby Championship 9091850.00
Emirates Lions2024/25 [15] EPCR Challenge Cup 203540.00
Emirates Lions2024/25 [16] United Rugby Championship 80101844.44
Fidelity ADT Lions2025 [17] Currie Cup 301475.00
Emirates Lions2025/26 [15] EPCR Challenge Cup 00220.00
Emirates Lions2025/26 [18] United Rugby Championship 304742.86
Total6168014741.50

Honours

As a Head Coach

Lions

Currie Cup Premier Division Runner-Up 2019

Currie Cup Premier Division Runner-Up 2025 [17]

References

  1. ↑ "Late Lions shock as coach Swys de Bruin heads home". Sport24.co.za. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  2. ↑ "From fitness guru to head coach: "Commander Cash" ready to roar". Heinz Schenk. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  3. ↑ "Golden Lions confirm new Currie Cup coach". sports24.co.za. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "Ivan van Rooyen". www.ultimaterugby.com. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  5. ↑ on, Published (10 February 2023). "Cash to earn more than Dobbo?". SA Rugby magazine. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "DHL Stormers crowned inaugural URC champions after edging Vodacom Bulls in Cape Town". unitedrugby.com. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "United Rugby Championship". unitedrugby.com. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "CARLING CURRIE CUP | SA Rugby". 11 January 2021. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ "2020 Super Rugby Unlocked". Super Rugby. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  10. 1 2 "CARLING CURRIE CUP PREMIER DIVISION | SA Rugby". sarugby.co.za. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Match Centre – United Rugby Championship". unitedrugby.com. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  12. ↑ "Challenge Cup | Fixtures & Results". European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  13. ↑ "Currie Cup Logs". SuperSport. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Match Centre". unitedrugby.com. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  15. 1 2 "Pool Tables | EPCR Challenge Cup". www.epcrugby.com. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  16. ↑ stats.unitedrugby.com https://stats.unitedrugby.com/match-centre/table/2024-25 . Retrieved 28 December 2025.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. 1 2 "Match Centre | SA Rugby". www.sarugby.co.za. Archived from the original on 4 September 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  18. ↑ stats.unitedrugby.com https://stats.unitedrugby.com/match-centre/table/2025-26 . Retrieved 28 December 2025.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)


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