Corniel Van Zyl: Ealing forwards coach to join Cardiff Rugby for 2024-25 season

Corniel van Zyl's playing career saw him lock horns with the likes of current England coach Steve Borthwick (right)

Forwards coach Corniel van Zyl will join Cardiff Rugby next season.

The South African is currently assisting Ealing Trailfinders following the collapse of London Irish, where he had held a similar role since 2021.

Van Zyl, 45, had previously spent more than five years with Free State Cheetahs in his home country.

He spent the majority of his playing career with Benetton in Italy, a country he qualified to play for on residency grounds, earning eight caps.

"It's no secret that we need to bolster our backroom staff and Corniel is a top quality addition to our coaching group," said Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt.

"He has an abundance of experience coaching in different hemispheres and competitions in terms of Super Rugby, Pro14 and the English Premiership.

"He has an excellent reputation for being a top quality, detail-focused forwards coach and as well as this, he is good person, who will add to the environment at Cardiff. We look forward to welcoming Corniel and his young family to Cardiff in the summer."

Van Zyl said: "I'm really excited to link up with Cardiff next season and it's something we as a family are really looking forward to.

"Cardiff has such a rich history in the rugby world, so it's great to have the chance to make a difference to the club.

"It's also a city I am pretty familiar with and have always enjoyed both during my playing days and as a coach. We would always stay in Cardiff regardless of where we were playing in Wales. It has a great vibe, which can be really busy but also very chilled out and relaxed.

"I've had some really good conversations with Matt, who was very open and honest about the current situation at the club and vision moving forward. That's always a good start. We have a good connection and I feel like there is a lot of alignment in the way we both see the game.

"I've seen a fair bit of Cardiff this season and while results haven't gone their way you can see they always fight right until the very end and that is a sign of a very good group.

"It's also really exciting to have such a talented pool of young players coming through and the opportunity to help mould them into world class players.

"I'm also very grateful to Ealing Trailfinders and if it wasn't for them I probably wouldn't have this opportunity. What happened at London Irish was really tough but after a short break, I had the chance to go to Ealing to continue coaching and work with a group of players, who you naturally become fond of.

"I'm hoping we can finish the season on a high before moving onto this next challenge with Cardiff."