JOHANN VAN GRAAN and JP Ferreira first met as players in their native South Africa, although Ferreira – who is now Munster’s defence coach – had no memory of it until someone sent him a photo of an old match programme just before he moved to Ireland.
Ferreira and van Graan, it transpired, had been in the same matchday squad for the University of Pretoria in the early 2000s.
By the time Munster head coach van Graan had convinced Ferreira to relocate his young family to Limerick in December 2017, the pair were more than familiar with each other.
They first built a relationship during their time as analysts, van Graan working for the Blue Bulls and Ferreira for the Lions, then furthered the friendship as coaches when they were part of the Springboks’ staff on the 2016 November tour.
Van Graan is still only 39, while Ferreira is four years his junior – these are relatively young men in the world of rugby coaching but their upward trajectory is one that is increasingly common in the sport: analyst to coach.
Van Graan and Ferreira didn’t have high-profile playing careers but both men share a lifelong obsession with rugby that has catapulted them towards their work with one of the most famous teams in the game.
Ferreira, coming towards the end of his first full season with the province, has overseen a superb defensive campaign from Munster – who have conceded the fewest number of tries in both the Guinness Pro14 and Heineken Champions Cup.
While Munster’s attack has struggled at times, Ferreira’s defence has been consistently excellent. As importantly, his wife and two young daughters are happy in Limerick and he feels part of the Munster family.
“The first six months was always going to be challenging, especially coming in mid-season and trying to get to know everyone, suss it all out,” says the Pretoria man.
“But the people have been unbelievable in getting us set up as a family. The players have really made us feel part of Munster, which is massive.”
Ferreira has been a rugby fanatic from as early as he can remember, first playing at the age of seven.
His father played club rugby but his athletic genes came from his mother, former international tennis player Brigitte Cuypers, who was a South African champion multiple times, as well as playing in Wimbledon, the US Open and the French Open.
Growing up, Ferreira played at fullback or on the wing and recalls “always saying I’d rather kick a ball than study.” His future as an analyst was also hinted at in his youth.
“I’ve still got tapes of the 1995 World Cup in a box I have in storage,” says Ferreira.
“I used to come back from school, I was 12 at the time that World Cup was on the go, and I would put in tapes every single day and I’d watch them so many times that I was sitting there commentating myself as the commentators were also commentating.”
Ferreira didn’t play in the famous Craven Week schoolboy competition – where many future pros first make their names – but some connections of his father’s managed to secure him a trial with Bridgend in Wales after he left school.
“I went over to Wales the day after I finished my last school exam and little did I know but in the changing room were Dafydd James, Nathan Budgett, Gareth Thomas, and some Tongan guys like Maama Molitika and Josh Taumalolo,” says Ferreria.
“I was taken aback by the size of them. I was only 18.”
Ferreira impressed enough to secure a contract and spent seven months training with the senior team and playing with Bridgend’s U21s before returning home to South Africa.
The Blue Bulls’ Ian Schwartz, who went on to be Springboks team manager, then invited the youngster into the franchise for a trial, after which Ferreira played for the Bulls at U19 and U20 level, as well as training with the Springboks 7s squad.
But only Morné Steyn, Pierre Spies and Wynand Olivier of his U20 vintage advanced onto senior terms with the Bulls, with Ferreira moving to a smaller South African union called the Leopards and then onto the Falcons of the Gauteng province, who play in the Currie Cup.
Ferreira suffered a knee injury in 2005 and it looked like he would be released by the Falcons until he was struck by an idea.
“I told them, ‘If you’re not going to offer me a contract just to play, I’ll do the analysis for you.’ The analysis guy had just decided to leave. I knew I could get back to play, so they kept me on, I did the analysis and it took off from there.”
Ferreira played on until 2007 – his final game was a Currie Cup defeat to the Sharks – before his growing reputation as a rugby brain drew an offer from the Lions in Super Rugby to work solely as an analyst.
Ferreira learned from many coaches at the Lions – Eugene Eloff, Jake White, Dick Muir and John Mitchell – as his role gradually morphed from analysis into coaching. When Johan Ackermann took on the head coach role in 2012, the transition became permanent as he was made defence coach of the Lions.
“It was just the two of us as coaches,” says Ferreira. “After that, Johan just said, ‘I don’t want you behind a desk anymore. You’ve got to be on the pitch, I want you to coach.’
“It really sparked it in 2012. You’ve got to take that knowledge you have from being an analyst into being a coach.
“I’m not a guy that boasts but because I watched so much rugby and was so fanatical about rugby, that led to other things. With the analysis, it was going into depth about other teams, looking at trends in attack. Although you’re an analyst, I was allowed to speak up and suggest things, finding things that might improve the team.”
Ferreira was also head analyst for the Lions up until leaving for Munster, but his role as defence coach was the priority. He helped the Lions to their 2015 Currie Cup success, as well as back-to-back Super Rugby finals in 2016 and 2017 when they had the best defence in the competition.
“I had a strong idea what I wanted to do,” says Ferreira of being handed the defensive reins. “At the time, I would like to think what we did with the Lions wasn’t really in Super Rugby.
“Very basically, it was to get the quicker guys on the outside and the slow guys to the inside and how you do that. It was different back then, everything with defence has changed since.”
Defence has certainly transformed drastically in Ferreira’s time in the game, from a place where linespeed was nothing like the common theme it is now to the current status quo of having 13 or 14 players in the frontline racing towards the attack at speed.
And shifting to Munster has been another welcome change for a defence coach coming from the Southern Hemisphere.
“Defence in Europe is much more on the top shelf than what it is in Super Rugby,” explains Ferriera. “You’re sort of on the back burners in Super Rugby, where it’s more attack focused and the defence is just carrying the team but it’s lower down the order.”
Coming in mid-season in December 2017 alongside van Graan was challenging for Ferreira, although he says previous defence coach Jacques Nienaber – now part of the Boks set-up with Rassie Erasmus – had left the place in good order.
“I didn’t come in here and say, ‘Ok, we’re scrapping everything and going with my way.’
“I don’t believe in that, I believe that there was a system in place and it did work, but can there be improvements? Definitely, so I then implemented small things to improve it.”
Ferreira focused on ensuring Munster’s players were better at staying ‘connected’ in defence. Even when bringing linespeed, Munster’s players have been good at working with the team-mates either side of them.
“That was one area I asked questions of; ‘How come we are going into semi-finals and don’t go into finals?’ I looked at videos where we were trying to make crazy reads on the outside and taking ourselves out and teams were ripping us apart.
“When you get into knock-out rugby, you’ve got to stay alive. If you’re going to take yourself out by trying to make a read, how are you going to get those trophies? So for me, it was trying to get that mindset of staying connected and staying alive.”
Ferreira says he loves “getting my hands dirty” with the technical aspects of coaching defence, while his analysis background means he’s a big believer in the value of going through match footage in detail.
Like most defence coaches, he stresses that mindset and communication are as important as anything, saying that “even if we had the shittest plan, it might actually be the best plan – there might be five different options of defending something but if we all agree on one, that can be the right thing.”
In Ferreira’s eyes, defence can be straightforward if the attitude is right.
“I said it to the lads at the beginning of the season, ‘If you’re not going to be a person that puts your body on the line, then you can’t play for this side.’ That’s how it should be.
“Before I took this job in Munster, I really looked at the emblem. The one thing that stood out was the stag on the emblem.
“The meaning behind that is that the stag stands its ground.
“That, to me, is what we are about.
“We stand our ground every single Saturday.”
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What a farce! Why call him up? This conversation needed to be had before the squad announcement. Making a mockery of our national team.
@Luke Jordan: getting sick of this shit now !!
@Luke Jordan: yeah-no problem with the fella still deciding but get him the fook out of the squad while he’s at it-absolute joke
@Luke Jordan: we are better off without him,and O’Neill can go as well.We are the laughing stock of football.Keane walks out on his country bye to him . Delaney is a clown.
@Luke Jordan: It’s a huge decision that needs to be made as an adult ie @18. Let him be and call him up again at 19. If he’s not interested then he’s not. I’d hate to be pressured into such a huge decision when I simply don’t know the facts. Not a great fan of MOL but he’s got this right. You can’t force boys to make decisions they could regret when they are men. We need commitment, not boots.
@Denis McClean: if they speak with an English accent,don’t call them up.Granny rule my a–e.
@Peter Kiernan: Well he was born in Dublin so I don’t think his accent matters, except to you of course.
@Denis McClean: Sensible comment. People losing it over an 18 year old, unproven top flight player? Nonsense stuff.
@Denis McClean: Sensible comment. People losing it over an 18 year old, unproven top flight player? Mad stuff.
@Denis McClean: Sensible comment. Why people are losing it over an 18 year old, unproven top flight player?
@Peter Kiernan: Zinedine Kilbane, an absolute legend for the Boys In Green.
Sorry state of affairs, surely he should have talked to him before he called him up?.
@Dan Finlay: this is getting rediculuce. Just pick players interested in playing. Not young fellas who can’t decide what country they want to represent.
@Dan Finlay: a lot of people were happy and excited about this guy and one statement from MON and his popularity slumped!
Realistically why would he choose Ireland unless hes not good enough for England or Nigeria. He was born here to Nigerian parents but moved away at a young age so in all reality probably doesnt have much affinity to Ireland. Being born in a stable doesnt make you a horse. However if your parents are horses then you’re a horse, and if you grow up in a stable then either you are a horse or at least more likely to feel like a horse
@Frank Scanlon: too many neigh-sayers on here. Lets keep to the mane point before this turns into a complete mare
@Frank Scanlon: Brilliant
@Frank Scanlon: why did he accept the call? Call his bluff, play or go away!
@Frank Scanlon: needs to reign himself in . Clearly he’s looking down his nose at us too. Someone needs to get the whip out and settle this young stallion down !
@Tranceformer: we’ve been at this furlong enough.
I heard he’s not great under a pieball.
He’s no Pony Cascarino anyway.
Sorry I canter resist.
@Fiach Moriarty: black beauty
@Fiach Moriarty: Ah this is great
A coupe of lads just having a bit of harmless unbridled banter!
@Frank Scanlon: great point , so why play underage for us then
@O Riada Keith: bring back Caleb Foal-an
Unfair on players who actually want to play for their country. What a farce of an organisation
Our national side is fast becoming the door mat for others. Shocking new low. The FAI are woeful negotiators and O’Neill is a dreadful salesman. As an international manager you have months to prepare and he has known about Obafemi for some time now, could easily have spoken to the parents in advance of these games. Meanwhile there are lads in Dundalk chomping at the bit to play for the national team and are seen as “not good enough”. Sorry state for football here, lacking domestically and internationally.
Put him on against Denmark or tell him to get stuffed and don’t come back. I’d rather they played Barry the sparks from Tallaght instead of the clowns who couldn’t care less about representing Ireland. Should be told outright at U15 level. Can’t be allowed use us at underage level and then change allegiances if there’s even a whiff of an England call up. Where was England and Nigeria last year when he was deemed not good enough for their teams?
Jesus here we go again… lets warm him up while he decides when he wants to play elswhere.
Absolute shambles of a decision.
@IrishOwl: international football is gone beyond a joke at this stage, to the point that I won’t even watch it anymore. And I’d watch bloody any sport. Bores me to tears. Lackluster performances from both players and management. Garbage.
@Tony Murphy: couldnt agree more !!
Why is he calling up someone that is unwilling to play. I’m sure there is lots of players in the LOI that would give their right arm to be involved in the squad. Its becoming a joke at this stage. That laughing stock of international football.
We don’t want him same as Rice. If you’re unsure it means you’re not committed and are hedging your bets, cut him loose.
@John: Then he will play for nobody as he hasn’t decided any country yet
@John: plus he’s useless as well. I saw him play for Southampton and he was like a headless chicken on red bull.
Why was a uncommitted player called up in the first. He should be removed from the squad and someone who wants to be there should be given the chance,
pick him for the Danish game and if he turns down the cap the tell him piss off.
Getting sick of all these plonkers playing underage teams with Ireland and training with senior squads then stalling to see if a better option comes alone.
O Neill and the FAI would want to grow a pair of balls and stop this on going circus……
Worked out well for Grealish didn’t it. He’s still waiting by the phone for his England call up & by the looks of things he will be waiting for a while. Why are we letting these players into our under age system in the knowledge that they are highly unlikely to want to play for us at senior level if the think a better offer might come along. This guy should be removed from all Irish squads.
@ciaran kehoe: international football is not a necessity for a playing career, whatever country you choose at any level should always be your country
Seems like these lads are taking the absolute piss. Not good enough for England but take the call up for Ireland to get their profiles raised and get them noticed by England. What use are these players to O’Neill if he can’t rely on them to play. The fai and that goon Delaney are too blame. There should be no players called up to the senior squad unless they’ve declared for Ireland.
Just tell him he’s playing and if he refuses cancel the passport and let him go where he likes. The same should be done with Rice .
Give him some space. Sure he might be Irish after all
O’Neill and Keane need to go now. They are making a mockery of the National team by calling up players who have not committed to the team. It’s forcing the players hands in a very public way.
Doesn’t want to be Irish Family living in the UK on a Irish passport stolen citizenship’s it should be revoked.
@Martin Forde: You do realise that he is Dublin, surely that’s Irish enough to be allowed keep his passport
@Dan: *from Dublin
We are becoming the country that youngsters don’t want to play for !!! …. why ?
@John Healy: cos we are crap
Delaney and co are some joke
@Martin Brennan: Delaney is well worth his €350k plus salary. Because he said so.
Play him against Denmark or tell him to piss off
Martin O’Neill has just lost the little bit of credibility he may have had left, out ta f**k with the whole lot of them!
Another lad that needs to be told to fxxk off, ask once then bye bye ….
This England B pantomime keeps getting more ridiculous, how many Irish teens are slipping through as we try and give these mercenaries a chance?
@Santi Charlie Bravo: couldn’t agree more
Waste of time him even being there. If he has any doubt, good riddance
Calls this lad up who has no intention of playing with 2 sub appearances, no call for dan Crowley who is playing full time in holland and waiting on a call. O’neill is the cause of this bringing up ‘I’m going to talk to him because I don’t want to tie him down’. You call him up tell him he’ll be an important player for year to come fire him on against Denmark and all the b***shitis over with.
Is O’Neill try to make Ireland,Englands academy tell the young lad good luck .
He might get 1 game for england but if he was really wanted he would of been picked already @ underage level.
If he wanted to play for us he would. using Ireland as 2nd or 3rd choice is not on.
Hope he has a good career but go & take rice with u.
Tnks but no thanks
Jokeshop in every single way. Laughable in every single way. Who do these guys think they.
Out of the team with him so and he probably grew up here too
Common denominator here ….Martin O’Neill !!! And if he needs time after training in the green top tell him and Mr Rice to kindly f**k off please !!
League of Ireland should go on strike
@PurpleRain: the season over so who’d notice.
Joke
Give someone else a chance then
They get called up train with hoof O’Neill and then say “eh forgot to mention I don’t wanna play with your team anymore!” Coincidence?? I think not! Also why call him up if he’s thinking about future??? Makes Irish team a laughing stock beyond a joke!
This is sadly where the R. of I. currently is as an international team. Obafemi will only play for us if his other options don’t check out. If England (his first preference) and Nigeria (his second) fail to make an approach then maybe, just maybe, he might consider the inferior choice – Ireland. Who is this guy? Some proven, seasoned Premiership player? No, a teenager who has yet to become a regular for a poorly-performing Southhampton team. Let’s face it, the only way Obafami becomes an Irish international is if in a few years time he ends up in the Championship (a distinct possibility) and he has no other suitors.
Calls this lad up who has no intention of playing with 2 sub appearances, no call for dan Crowley who is playing full time in holland and waiting on a call. O’neill is the cause of this bringing up ‘I’m going to talk to him because I don’t want to tie him down’. You call him up tell him he’ll be an important player for year to come fire him on against Denmark and all the b*ll*x is over with.
@BobWallace87:
Dan Crowley? Lol. England don’t want him and even Ireland don;t want him either. He is a poor player