LIONS
Head CoachIvan van Rooyen
Ivan van Rooyen is the head coach of the Lions, named URC Coach of the Season for 2025–26 after taking the franchise from strugglers to table-toppers.
Tenure record
as of 6 Sep 2026By competition
United Rugby Championship 19P · 10W · 1D · 8L
Currie Cup 17P · 9W · 1D · 7L
Challenge Cup 4P · 1W · 1D · 2L
Rugby's Greatest Rivalry 1P · 0W · 0D · 1L
Ivan van Rooyen has overseen 41 completed Lions matches in our database since July 2025 — 20 won, 3 drawn, 18 lost. That is a 48.8% win rate, with 1242 points scored and 1091 conceded.
Records are computed from the WeTalkRugby match database and cover matches we hold data for within this tenure. They are not an official all-time record.
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Coaching career
- 2019- Lions Head Coach
About Ivan van Rooyen
Ivan van Rooyen is the head coach of the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions and was voted BKT URC Coach of the Season for 2025–26 in a poll of his fellow coaches.
His route to the job is unlike almost anyone else’s at this level. He had no significant first-class fifteens career — he excelled at sevens, retired early, and joined the Lions in 2009 as a sport scientist.
From sport science to the top job
He worked across the franchise’s junior, Vodacom Cup, Super Rugby and Currie Cup programmes, became Performance Excellence Manager in 2018 and head coach of the Currie Cup side the same year. He served as interim head coach on the 2019 Super Rugby tour and was confirmed permanently later that year, aged 37.
The turnaround
The early seasons were hard. A sub-40 per cent win rate and a twelfth-place finish in 2021–22 brought heavy criticism. What followed was one of the more striking rebuilds in the league: the Lions topped the 2025–26 regular-season standings on a modest budget before losing a quarter-final to Leinster.
Style
His Lions play fast, keep the ball and attack from deep, and he has a strong record of recruiting well below the market. He has not yet won a trophy as head coach — the Lions were Currie Cup runners-up in 2019 and 2025.
Frequently asked
Who is the head coach of Lions?
Ivan van Rooyen is the head coach of Lions.
When did Ivan van Rooyen take charge?
Ivan van Rooyen took over at Lions in October 2019, around 6 years ago.
What is Ivan van Rooyen's record?
From 41 matches in our database: 20 wins, 3 draws and 18 defeats — a 48.8% win rate.
What nationality is Ivan van Rooyen?
Ivan van Rooyen is South African.
