As expected, coach Brandon Truter has been appointed as the head coach of Richards Bay.

Truter is replacing Vusi Vilakazi on a one-year deal with an option to renew.

This comes after Vilakazi’s contract with Bay expired at the end of June. And after he successfully guided the Natal Rich Boyz to PSL safety through the playoffs, Bay offered him a new one but they reneged from that deal.

Truter is familiar with the club, having previously coached the KwaZulu-Natal side between July 2018 and September 2019 during their Motsepe Foundation Championship campaign.

He subsequently joined Moroka Swallows in the same division, leading them to promotion to the Betway Premiership. Truter’s Swallows side was renowned for their defensive solidity, securing a sixth-place finish in the 2020/21 season and notably going unbeaten against Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, and Mamelodi Sundowns, earning him PSL Coach of the Month accolades. Despite this success, he was dismissed in November 2021.

Truter then took over as caretaker coach at AmaZulu in March 2022, following Benni McCarthy’s departure. After guiding Usuthu to a top-eight finish, he was handed the job permanently but was again relieved of his duties in October in that year, replaced by Romain Folz.

A month later, Truter resurfaced at Sekhukhune United, leading them to a seventh-place finish in the 2022/23 season and the Nedbank Cup final, where they were defeated by Orlando Pirates. The club parted ways with him in November last year, and he subsequently took charge of Motsepe Foundation Championship side Upington City in April.

Returning to Richards Bay, Truter faces the challenge of guiding the club into the top four of the 2024/25 season, which is the mandate. The club has bolstered its squad with several experienced signings and received a R100 million sponsorship to aid its ambitions.