By Francois de Wet
Sanlam Boland Cavaliers forwards coach, Mornay Kurtz, is a man with many hats and deep roots in his community making valuable impact.
A qualified teacher turned boilermaker come businessman, Kurtz has been welding and shaping the Cavas’ forward pack with much aplomb. The Saldanha Bay-borne coach runs a successful engineering business – MCK Engineering – in his hometown, where he also upskills the youth.
He has his engineering trade school that for the past decade has led to members of this community finding employment in the steel and shipping industry.
Kurtz calls it legacy building, something he is now also striving to do as a qualified World Rugby Level 3 coach at Sanlam Boland Cavaliers.
In his playing days as a student at Athlone College, he got the chance to rub shoulders with legends of non-racial rugby like Francois Davids (Deputy President of SA Rugby), Nazeem Moerat (father of Salmaan Moerat) of Vineyards.
While in his time working and playing for Iscor up in Natal, he got coached by the late Yaghya Shakier after making the Natal Merit and Northern Natal teams.
After returning to the West Coast, Kurtz also played many a representative game for Boland while staying true to the colours of Saldanha.
In his first five years at the Cavas, Kurtz has made a huge impact as the man behind an ever-improving forward pack. Not too shabby for someone who started taking coaching seriously just a decade ago, in 2015.
Whilst he teaches others to better themselves at MCK Training School, Kurtz recalls the wise words of one of his early-day mentors in those initial coaching days.
“It was during my World Rugby Level 2 training course in 2015 when the late Professor Wilbur Kraak gave me some sage advice that has stayed dear to me on this journey,” Kurtz says.
“That was to always remember to stay coachable, humble and honest.”
Armed by these words and then crossing paths with former Springbok Dale Santon through the SA Rugby Legends organisation, Kurtz went on to acquire his World Rugby Level 3 credentials.
“Dale always used to contact me to come and assist with coaching at SA Rugby Legends (SARL) coaching clinics at underprivileged schools here on the West Coast,” Kurtz says.
“Kabamba Floors (ex-Springbok and current Maties coach) ran the clinics for SARL with [fellow former Bok] Percy Montgomery assisting. And I guess they all saw something in me and decided to recommend me for the [World Rugby] Level 3 course.”
That is where Kurtz crossed paths with SA Rugby’s manager of coaching development, Hilton Adonis, who has up until this day remained one of his big mentors and remembers the latter helping him win his first big title as a head coach in 2019.
“Yes, I have to credit him for my growth as a coach as he was the one that took us through the World Rugby Level 3 course and he is one of the reasons I had success as head coach at Saldanha [Bay RFC] in that 2019 season,” Kurtz says.
“I can still remember ahead of the final I spoke to him about making a move (play) that could help us win the title. He was at the final sitting with us and the game I remember was very tightly contested.
“I was itching to try the move, but his calming voice told me to hold on and that I would know when the time would be to strike. And when the time came, he told me ‘daarsie move’ (now is the time) – ending up with us scoring and winning the game.”
That success in his first season in charge of Saldanha Bay led to a call from the late Ivan Pekeur (former Boland Rugby Union president) for Kurtz to take over as coach of the Cavas U20 side.
Unfortunately, Kurtz never got to coach the U20 team that year, as the COVID-19 pandemic led to a halt of all sports across the world.
“At that stage, I had returned to Saldanha and coached them to the 2021 Top 12 crown when Boland contacted me again and said they needed me at the Cavas senior team as an assistant coach to Franzel September.”
Since then, Kurtz has not looked back, helping the Cavas win back-to-back Currie Cup First Division titles. The first came in 2023 under head coach September and last year when Hawies Fourie took over the head coaching role.
But his success at provincial level, Kurtz says is not of his own making as he regularly taps into the knowledge of head coach Fourie while also having a couple of Springbok coaches on speed-dial when it comes to improving the Cavas forward pack.
“Another mentor I have is Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids and I can only say that I am truly privileged to have someone like that I can call on for advice. I also speak a lot to Bok scrum coach Daan Human for advice when it comes to the scrums.
“Former Springbok player Duane Vermeulen has on two occasions also given me heaps of advice when it comes to maul setups from lineouts and the defensive work around that area of the game.
“And then there is Chean Roux who is also a consultant here at the Cavaliers, he comes in twice a week to consult with us where he helps out with our contesting at lineouts.”