Who is Chean Roux by Piet De Jaager
Who is Chean Roux by Piet De Jaager
Maties old boy Chean Roux is currently the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Stellenbosch.
Roux, a No.8 in his playing days, captained the Maties to the national club title in 2000 and coached the team to the same title in 2005. He played for the Maties from 1995 to 1997 before he was discovered by the provincial selectors.
This business 'tycoon' with a number of Super Spar outlets has an incredible passion for the game and for coaching. His mentor in coaching is none other than the legendary Ian Kirkpatrick, a former Maties coach.
Chean played the game at high levels: he represented Western Province and the Stormers from 1997 to 2001, before moving abroad to play for a club in Italy.
Upon his return he played for Boland for one season before moving into coaching, first as assistant Maties coach in 2004 and then as head coach - a position he has held since 2005. Chean received recognition from SARU when he was appointed technical advisor for the Emerging Boks in 2007. Springbok mentor Peter de Villiers was the coach of that Emerging Bok team.
Chean (who tells the story that his father, a wine farmer, decided on his first name after the third bottle of wine after his birth!) is married to Lisa. He enjoys South African music and is a keen supporter of his Stellenbosch neighbour, Valiant Swart, and Anton Goosen.
Lisa says he enjoys good Italian pasta. He plays golf and is a keen hunter.
The Maties, of course, are the current Varsity Cup champions. And Chean says the aim is to stay on top: "There will be no surprises in the 2009 competition. We know each other too well."
Roux is very positive about the Varsity Cup, adding: "It is run in a very professional way and our players get tremendous coverage. It may well be that players will opt to rather play for the university than to bench for a provincial side."
The Monday night format is good for the coverage but it places a special burden on coaches who must manage his team through the weekend. "The players are not full-time professionals and they want to have a bit of a weekend," he admitted.
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