The South Western District Eagles aren't only without a coach, but may soon be without contracts as well.
The Eagles have been on the hunt for a new coach for some time now and following the appointment of Frans Ludeke as Harry Viljoen's assistant and his probable departure to the Lions, they are in a spot of bother as SA under-21 coach Eric Sauls (pictured) has been slow in giving his answer.
The problem apparently is that the Eagles have announced a 40 per cent cut in the players budget, which will make Sauls' task of attracting new players to the province very difficult.
If the union has not appointed a new coach by the end of the month, the current crop will all be without contracts. The situation has led to the departure of a number of players, with lock Drickus Hancke on Monday announcing he has accepted a contract from Western Province.
Other players to have left include Johan Wasserman (Blue Bulls), Klein-Jan Tromp (Lions), Rickus Lubbe, Lodewyk Hattingh and Renier van der Berg (all overseas).
If Sauls does reject the offer, either one of former Elephants coach Nelie Smith or veteran centre Brendan Venter are in line to take over.