History has repeated itself in the position of Brazilian Head Coach. For the second time, Josh Reeves has been named Head Coach. He replaced Fernando Portugal in 2022 and now he replaces Emiliano Caffera. The change comes days out from Brazil’s away Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifier against Paraguay in Asunción.
The 2002 appointment saw Reeves replacing Fernando Portugal on an interim basis. The same is true now with Reeves taking over from Caffera. It sees Brazil’s Director of Rugby now also the Head Coach of the national Men’s Team, Os Tupis.
The decision received criticism from members of the Brazilian rugby community and Americas Rugby News also understands that it was not a unanimous from Brasil Rugby (Confederação Brasileira de Rugby– CBRu) itself. Indeed, six of the eight leaders were opposed to removing Caffera.
The CBRu has not publicly explained the change. What did go public was limited to two lines in a release earlier this week.
As director of rugby, Reeves was involved in Caffera’s removal. There were disagreements between Caffera and Reeves which led to the dismissal of the Uruguayan and the New Zealander taking his job. The dispute included members of the Brazilian roster.
Under Caffera, Brazil lost both matches against Chile earlier this year. Notwithstanding, Brazil was less competitive against Chile when coached by Reeves in 2022. Moreover, the coaching change that saw Reeves replacing Fernando Portugal came on the back of Brazil’s unbeaten campaign at the South American Tri Nations. Portugal had coached Brazil to the title with wins over Paraguay and Colombia.
