Roni Gabriel, a footballer from Tongaat, has concluded an impressive career path by securing the position of head coach in the top division. Gabriel, who previously worked at Richards Bay Football Club, served as the second coach for the last three seasons.
He is now appointed as the club's head coach, marking a transition from amateur football to the heights of professional sport. The 50-year-old Gabriel signed an official contract with Natal Rich Boyz for the upcoming Betway Premiership campaign, which includes an option for extension. To support him in this new role, he will work alongside Siboniso Gumede on the bench.
The head coach vacancy arose after the departure of former assistant coach Papi Zothwane, who left the club at the end of last season to join Sekhukhune United. This move provided Gabriel with his first opportunity to lead a team at the elite level of South African football.
His diligence was shaped in humble working-class conditions. Growing up in a modest family where his father, Gabriel Valavandrum, worked as a truck driver, and his mother, Shukun Valavandrum, worked as a domestic servant, he developed a passion for sports that led him to the heights of domestic football.
This significant stage is the culmination of methodical, multi-year advancement up the career ladder. His tactical talent developed after early setbacks as a player, when his promising career at Stanger United was cut short by an injury that made further play impossible.
Gabriel methodically built his coaching competencies, starting from the basics of the sport at the local associations level of Tongaat (Tongaat Local Football Association - LFA). As head coach of Maidstone FC, he won the prestigious amateur club tournament—the George Ramalu Memorial Cup—in 2011. He then successfully managed Uthongathi FC, helping it climb the leagues, first reaching the regional SAB League, and then winning the regional title to advance to the provincial ABC Motsepe League. Following this, he led an undefeated national playoff campaign, allowing the team to enter the professional National First Division.
His tactical knowledge is supported by a high level of qualification: the local specialist obtained the prestigious CAF A license. Later, he joined the technical staff of Richards Bay, serving as an assistant under Pitso Dladla during the 2021/22 campaign when the club achieved promotion. Gabriel remained an important member of the coaching staff under subsequent managers such as Wusumuzi Vilakazi, Kaitano Tembo, and Brandon Truter before helping the club finish eighth in 2025.
Significant changes occurred in the squad before the start of the new season. Although Richards Bay lost Sbangani Zulu, who transferred to Orlando Pirates, the team strengthened its defensive line by signing central defender Tamsanga Ndelu from Mkhambathi and left-back Siphamanda Gvele from lower division side Ravens FC.
