‘Winning rugby’ is Dewey Swartbooi's honest answer when asked what kind of rugby he wants UP-Tuks to play next year in the Varsity Shield competition.

The former Blue Bulls player is the newly appointed TuksRugby head coach.

Swartbooi admits that saying he wants the team to win is a cliché. He justifies what he said by quoting one of South Africa's coaching legends, Heyneke Meyer.

"Heyneke used to say he coaches players to play winning rugby because playing attractive rugby is no guarantee to win trophies."

Swartbooi is under no illusion of the enormity of the task that awaits him and his players from next year on. They have got to restore the Tuks' rugby honour. This year's Varsity Cup campaign was not up to the level wanted. As defending champions, the Tuks lost all seven games. It is hard to remember when, if ever, the Tuks lost seven games on the trot. It led to the Tuks being relegated to the Varsity Shield tournament.

According to Swartbooi, many might think that it is going to be a mere formality for Tuks to win the 2023 Varsity Shield edition.

"Experience has taught me to never take anything for granted. I know now that we must be at our best to win. Every team in the Varsity Shield competition is going to come for us. For them, it is about getting the bragging rights to beat Tuks. Despite what happened, Tuks is still considered one of the legendary teams of South African rugby."

As a coach, Swartbooi firmly believes that getting to know and understand your players is the foundation of success.

"As said, winning is important, but the most rewarding thing about being a coach to me is knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of young people. It is important that players not only succeed on the field; they must excel in everything they do. Rugby is a tool to help players think like winners."

In 2017, Swartbooi coached Tuks to clinch the Varsity Young Guns title.

Swartbooi's passion for rugby started in the dusty streets of Sutherland. At the age of four, he went along with his dad to watch club rugby. A memory that has remained is how sometimes the spectators switched on the headlights of their cars to allow for enough light so the players could finish the game.

Then there are also the memories of listening on Saturday afternoons to the rugby games broadcast on the radio.

"The commentators in those days were brilliant. The way they described the action made you feel as if you were next to the field watching the game."

It was in Worcester, playing as a centre, that Swartbooi's heroics started to get noticed. He got to play for the Boland Cravenweek team, the South African Schools (under-18).

A definite highlight was being part of the Junior Springboks team under the headship of Jake White, which won the inaugural Under-21 Rugby World Championship in 2002. In the backline, Swartbooi partnered with the likes of Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez, Clyde Rathbone, and Ricky Januarie. A year later, he debuted for the Bulls, playing Super Rugby.

Playing golf to forget about rugby and to relax is something Swartbooi learned in Pretoria. He admits not being one of the best.

"I playoff an 18 handicap, which is genuinely an 18 handicap. When I play, I am there to lift the spirits of the other players."