Coach Profile: Sam Mofokeng (Diocesan College)
Last season, under Head Coach Wes Chetty, the Bishops’ 1st XV endured some defeats; however, despite those losses, something always stood out, and that was that they often scored more points than their opposition in the last 15 minutes of the match.
They showed resilience, and that fighting quality continued under Sam Mofokeng when he served as the interim Head Coach from July before being officially appointed to the position in 2026.
He joined the Cape Town school six years ago as an English teacher, when he was also handed some rugby coaching roles. Rugby became a part of his life a long time before that, however.
“My earliest memory of rugby can be traced back to when I watched the 1995 Rugby World Cup,” he recalled. “I remember watching us [South Africa] play in the opening game versus Australia in the TV room of my primary school’s boarding house.”
From there, his love for the game grew, and the technical aspects of the sport interested him: “I developed a love for the tactical side of the game. Even as a player at school, I read a lot of coaching books. I looked forward to the coaching section of the physical SA Rugby Magazine that my friend’s father subscribed to, using it to try and improve my own game.
“What got me excited about coaching was reading Total Rugby by Jim Greenwood, and being at Michaelhouse as a young coach during the era in which Ryno Combrinck was their Director of Rugby.”
The 1st XV coach has continued to be an astute student of the game. He shared some of the highlights of his studies with SuperSport Schools Plus: “My biggest achievement as a coach is obtaining my level three qualification from SARU (South African Rugby Union). It’s a really rigorous course, and I had to do it in the tricky Covid-19 period, where I had two abandoned seasons to negotiate.”
When asked about his personal coaching heroes, Mofokeng once again shone the spotlight on his time at Michaelhouse: “Ryno Combrinck; what he did to that Michaelhouse programme was incredible. In terms of combining an exciting style of play with big results, his era will always be a reference point for future generations of that school.”
“Bafana Nhleko and Joey Mongalo also had huge influences on me. In tough circumstances, these men have achieved a lot in the game. They are curious people, but, most importantly, they are generous with their knowledge.
“Some other personal coaching heroes of mine are Michael Loftman and Rhulani Mokoena. They are young coaches who innovate, and have become some of the best in the world in terms of coaching methodology.”
He plans on using his earned knowledge to fulfil his goals with the Bishops’ 1st XV: “My ambition is simple and cliché. It’s to help the boys in my team to play the best rugby they can that both the past and present school community recognises – and, of course, I want them to enjoy it as much as possible.”
As the American writer David Foster Wallace once noted: “A real leader can somehow get us to do certain things that deep down we think are good and want to be able to do, but usually can’t get ourselves to do on our own.”
With Sam Mofokeng steering the ship, the Diocesan College 1st XV is intent on combining their coach’s technical know-how with their traditional exciting approach to the game to lift them to greater success in 2026.
