The Roodepoort Rugby Club has recently announced its newly appointed coach for this season of the games and former rugby player, Willie Wepener, who has an extensive portfolio as a footballer and beloved rugby legend, made the cut.
Willie has played for various teams since the beginning of his career in 1997 until 2015 and is well-known for his contribution to the National Schools U17, Steenbokke Invitational XV, Golden Lions U18, RAU U19A, RAU U21A, RAU 1st Team Quaggas XV, and Pirates 1st Rugby Teams. He has also played in various league matches such as the Lions Vodacom Cup, Lions Super Rugby, and the Heineken Cup with his career being marked by success after success.
While he described himself as ‘old school’, his coaching philosophy and style are driven by hard work and simplicity, and believes in the saying ‘put in the work, the rest will happen automatically’. He is also big on discipline on and off the field and said that it is also important for players to grow on the field and for their self-confidence to improve.
“The most important to me is to enjoy every moment,” Willie said.
As rugby is a game that requires critical thought, strategy and immense skill, Willie thinks there is a big gap between the time spent on skills as a team and individual skills, more especially at the school level and younger teams.
“I think more time should be spent on player development and confidence,” he reiterated.
While the intense game of rugby comes with its victories and defeats – some memorable and others which coaches and players would rather choose to forget, Willie said there are always challenges with club rugby to get players on the field for practice.
“Work duty plays a big role as players are not paid at club level. Finances are always a problem when it comes to club rugby. We at Roodepoort were and are privileged this year with a good group of players who were very committed and always tried to get to practice. We don’t have much time in the week to get to every fixed set and spend time,” he said.
As teamwork is also a critical element and a contributing factor towards a successful rugby team, Willie said that he is very passionate about fostering a positive team culture, which adds well to the work of being a coach, especially in a rugby context where teamwork is everything on the field. He thinks that it is important to have a good team spirit as it brings players close to each other when things get tough and said that it ties in well with the ‘brotherhood’ spirit to get them through difficult games.
“Every team we play against is different and a lot of time and planning is put into each game to give the players the right platform to play from. It is also important for every player in a decision-making position to read the game and provide direction to the rest of the team,” he said.
As communication is also a contributing factor to the success of clubs, Willie said that it is important to maintain clear, positive communication lines between players and coaches and to be able to understand and respect each other.
“I believe every person should be approachable,” he mentioned.
With his coaching style and philosophy being old school, how he keeps up with new rugby trends and techniques to be able to incorporate it into his strategy, he said that is important to follow matches and to always be prepared to ask for advice and to listen to other coaches.
“One can always learn something from someone else. I think there are a lot of good coaches at club and provincial level that are prepared to teach a lot,” he said and continued that one should always be prepared to listen.
