Marthinus Johannes Mentz (born 21 July 1982 in Ermelo,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

) is a former South African

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player and currently the backline coach of

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

side the . He regularly played as a winger or a fullback.

Career

He played for the , and in domestic South African rugby during his playing career which spanned 2002 to 2012. He also represented South Africa at Under-16, Under-18 and Under-21 level and represented the South African Sevens in 18 tournaments between 2006 and 2011, including the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

where his team won the bronze medal. He wrapped up his playing career at the Pumas, retiring after the 2012 season. The Pumas appointed him as a coach and assistant to head coach

Jimmy Stonehouse James Stonehouse (born in Krugersdorp, South Africa) is a South African rugby union coach and the head coach of Currie Cup side the . Rugby union Early career As a player, Stonehouse played hooker for . During his playing days, he was also a ...

. When Stonehouse left to join

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

side

Toshiba Brave Lupus Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. They are based in Fuchu, Tokyo, as is their local rival Suntory Sungoliath. They won the second ever Top League championship in the 2004-5 season and the Microsoft Cup i ...

at the start of 2015, Mentz was named as his successor. He guided the Pumas to their first ever

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

title in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, beating 24–7 in the final, and to sixth position in the

2015 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 77th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 7 August to 24 October 2015. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) was t ...

. On 2 November 2015, the Pumas announced that Mentz was reappointed as head coach until the end of 2017.

References

South African rugby union players Living people 1982 births People from Ermelo, Mpumalanga Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Griquas (rugby union) players Leopards (rugby union) players Pumas (Currie Cup) players South African rugby union coaches Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens Rugby sevens players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of South Africa Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for South Africa {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-stub