Bordeaux Bègles have strengthened their pipeline of talent with the acquisition of two South African youngsters.
According to Rapport, the back-to-back Investec Champions Cup winners have signed Benjamin Coetzee and Diaan Augustyn on junior contracts.
Coetzee, a hooker, is the son of former Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee. The teenager relocated to Europe with his family at the end of 2024 after his father took up a senior management role with French club Brive.
Before leaving South Africa, Coetzee represented the Sharks at the U16 Grant Khomo Week.
He later attended Wellington College in England, where he featured for the school’s 1st XV and attracted repeated interest from Bordeaux.
Born in France during his father’s stint with Bayonne, Coetzee holds dual South African and French citizenship and remains eligible to represent either nation.
ALSO: Wessels calls for SA schools to be compensated
“I always wanted to be like my father,” Coetzee told Rapport. “I always looked up to him growing up. I wanted to be a professional rugby player from a young age.”
Joining him at Bordeaux is towering lock Augustyn, a former pupil from Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale in Riversdale.
Standing 2.04m tall, Augustyn represented SWD at the U18 Craven Week in 2025 before earning selection for the SA Schools A side and later the SA U18 side.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
