New U20’s Coaching Team appointed
Northumberland U20’s has a new coaching team in place for this season’s programme. Director of Rugby, Ian Moralee, has appointed Michael van Vuuren as Head Coach and Nyle Godsmark as Assistant Coach. Ian commented “We are delighted to appoint two excellent coaches who have a wealth of experience from playing the game at the highest level. We had applications from some excellent candidates which highlights the growing strength of coaching in Northumberland and the importance of Representative rugby to Northumberland. I would like to thank Michael Searle for the excellent work he has done with the U20’s over the past 4 years.”
Michael van Vuuren was schooled at Grey High School in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He played in the Grey 1st team in 2008 and 2009, alongside Siya Kolisi who is also an Old Grey. After representing South Africa under 20 at the 2011 World Cup, he went on to a 13 year career as a pro rugby player. His background includes playing in prestigious leagues such as the French Top 14, English Premiership, URC and Champions Cup. In England, he represented teams like, Leicester Tigers, Bath, Northampton, Wasps and most recently, Newcastle Falcons. He has extensive coaching experience, currently serving as the Head Coach of the Alnwick 1st XV, Head Rugby Coach of Gateshead College, Lead Development Coach at Northumbria University, and the throwing coach for the South African Schools Captain. Upon his appointment Michael said “Ian Moralee is extremely passionate about Northumberland Rugby and possesses a strong motivation to cultivate a successful program. I am grateful to Northumberland Rugby for their confidence in me, and I am optimistic that I can contribute meaningfully to the development of an exciting program for our under 20 players.”
Nyle Godsmark played for Edinburgh Accies in the Scottish BT Premiership league. After 2 excellent seasons he was recruited by the Scottish National 7’s squad where he played 33 games in the HSBC Sevens World Series and represented Scotland at the 7’s World Cup and the 2018 Commonwealth games. In the 2015 Nyle signed for the then Pro 12 Champions Glasgow Warriors providing cover for Rugby World Cup. He played for Southern Knights in the Super 6 and Heriots before joining Northern FC where he is a player coach. Nyle is a level 3 (ERACA) coach and is the Coastal Rugby Community Coach for Percy Park, Whitley Bay Rockcliff and Ashington RFCs.
