World Champions South Africa on Friday named Jacques Nienaber as the new Springboks head coach, replacing Rassie Erasmus who led the squad to victory in the last World Cup.

“Jacques is highly experienced and has worked with the Springboks on three separate occasions now so knows exactly what the job is about,” said Erasmus in a statement.

While he has never played top-class rugby or coached any senior team, Nienaber played a crucial role as defence coach when the Springboks won the World Cup a record-equalling third time in November, beating England 32-12 in the final.