The former TuksRugby coach, Chris Buitendach, has over the weekend succumbed to his battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 68.

To many in South African rugby "Oom Chris" will be remembered as one of the faithful servants of the game. Coaching was his passion. Nothing made him happier than sharing his knowledge.  His trademark was an ever-ready smile. 

Buitendach was assistant coach to the Blue Bulls side in 1998 when they won the Currie Cup. He was also the assistant coach for the Polish national side. 

He started coaching way back in 1977. In the past 43 years, he has coached 28 teams (national, provincial and club) to finals winning half of them.
 
Definite highlights for him were helping the South African Students team to reach the World Students-final in 1996. The team lost to France in the final but has the bragging rights of being the only South African team to ever have played in a Students World Final.

Another highlight was coaching Tuks to win the South African Students Tournament in 2016. 

TuksRugby's Acting Head of Programme & Logistics Conrad Boshoff describes Buitendag as an exceptional person. 

"A true Tukkie and a true ambassador of the 'Game and life'. It was never only about rugby for Buitendach. Rugby for him was a means to help him establish values amongst young men. He described himself as a 'people builder' rather than referring to himself as a coach.

"One of Buitendach favourite sayings used to be: "Rugby is only a 'pit stop' in any player's life. Through playing the game, they learn the value of discipline and loyalty and to handle themselves when faced with a challenge."

During a 2017 interview at the HPC restaurant, he did not beat around the bush when asked what is important to him as a coach.

"Winning! It is like money. It is not everything but whatever is second is way back. Winning is what I, as a coach, gets judged on. But for me, it will never be winning at all costs. If any player is slack when it comes to training, he won't play in my team. I am not one of those coaches who would just select 15 talented players who don't train in the hope of winning a game. I chose players who are prepared to put in the hard work and discipline during training.

"The point I want to make is that you want 15 players on a team that wants to play rather than talented players who are not serious about the game."