UJ welcomes new rugby coach
AUCKLAND PARK – Rugby coach ready for new challenges and success with his new team.
AUCKLAND PARK – UJ’s new rugby coach to show his readiness and game plan at this year’s Varsity Cup.
The University of Johannesburg has appointed Dewey Swartbooi as their head coach for 2019. Swartbooi, former Boland and Bulls centre, stated he is ready to continue the strong rugby legacy of the orange army. He said, “There is definitely a big challenge ahead of us all, but I just want the team to continue to play good rugby.” Swartbooi comes to UJ with buckets of experience after being involved in the Bulls junior structures for the last three years. He was also coaching the Pretoria University team which competed in the Young Guns Varsity tournament.
The 36-year-old Swartbooi has taken over from Werner Janse van Rensburg, who enjoyed considerable success in his time in the hot seat. He applauded the efforts of Van Rensburg. He said, “As I mentioned to one of the guys, Skollie [Janse van Rensburg] has done a great job in the last few years and you have to give him credit. I want to build on the legacy he has left and I also want to create my own legacy and work hard to take the team forward.”
He also paid tribute to his other predecessor’s efforts with UJ and said he wanted to maintain the varsity’s strong rugby culture.
He promised to play an exciting brand of the game due to him coming from the rugby-mad region of Worcester in Boland, which has shaped his rugby philosophy. He said, “I definitely aim for a ball-in-hand type of style. We want to have an approach of throwing it around and making it entertaining for the fans but we also know that winning is important so we won’t be reckless in the way we approach each game.”
Going into his first season he acknowledged that there will be a lot of learning for himself and his players. He said, “It will be a building process and it will be a learning curve, both for me and the players but we will definitely be focused on seeing how much we can achieve in the Varsity Cup.”
Swartbooi couldn’t have asked for a bigger start as his team will play in this year’s Varsity Cup opening match on 4 February at home. His team will take on last year’s finalist in the North West University.
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