Swannie relinquishes his legendary title as Head Coach after 30 years

News of André Swanepoel stepping down from his position as Head Coach was greeted with gasps of disbelief at the Highlanders Rugby Club’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Saturday.

André Swanepoel was head coach of the Highlanders since the club was founded in 2002.

ALSO READ: Andre Swanepoel takes positives from the rugby season

Swanepoel, whose name has been synonymous with the Highlanders for 21 years, has been Head Coach of the club since it was founded in 2002. Prior to that, Swanepoel coached the Iscor Rugby Club from 1993 until 2002, when Iscor amalgamated with the Newcastle Rugby Club to form the Highlanders.

Club chairman, Alistair van Wyk, reassured members that, while Swanepoel resigned as Head Coach, he has not quite hung up his whistle as yet, having taken up a position as Director of Coaching.

In his new role, Swanepoel will still be involved in the Highlanders but not in the same capacity as before.

So who will be taking over as Head Coach?

Van Wyk’s announcement that Robert Everson is taking over as Head Coach of the Highlanders in 2024 was met with applause and cheers of approval. Members of the club, who initially expressed some trepidation as to whether the new Head Coach would be up to the task, were relieved to hear that Everson was selected for the position.

“The new Head Coach is someone who has been with the club since it started. It’s someone all the members of the club know and someone who knows the club in and out,” said Van Wyk, who is so confident of Everson’s ability to stimulate growth in the club and nurture the talent of its members that he stakes his own position as chairman on it.

“If Robert doesn’t achieve what I expect him to achieve in the next year, I will resign from my position as the chairman of the Highlanders,” pledged Van Wyk.

“As a coach, I feel I have hit the ceiling. I’m done. I can feel it. I’m done. It’s time to get a new voice in and I believe having Robert come on board is a big positive for the club,” added Swanepoel.

The Head Coach report:

Presenting the Head Coach report, Swanepoel openly conceded that 2023 was a disappointing year for the Highlanders with the club failing to achieve its goals.

“Going forward, we have to reassess how we do things,” stressed Swanepoel, who said his biggest disappointment of the season was Highlanders’ loss to Middelburg at home which led to the team being kicked out of the semi-finals.

Swanepoel congratulated the second team on its win in the Presidents League, and further expressed his pride in the teams that made it to the Junior Murray Cup finals and the Findley Cup finals.

He went on to inform members that a generous donation of R90 000 worth of exercise equipment made it possible for the club to establish a gym for its members, before thanking everyone who contributed to keeping the club going.

Club Captains report:

Club captain, Henk Booysen, said the 2023 season began on a high note with a celebration of the Highlanders 21st birthday. He regretted, however, that the enthusiasm seemed to have fizzled out on the field. Booysen commended the club for its performance in the NKZN League and congratulated the eight players who were selected for the NKZN side, the 13 players who were selected for the Puma Gert Sibande District team and the six players who were selected for the Puma Amateur side.

“Our results in the Puma League were a little disappointing. We shot ourselves in the foot and made one or two mistakes that cost us …But, we have the guys, we have the talent. We just need to put in the effort,” said Booysen.

Booysen concluded his report with thanks for the wives, girlfriends, mothers and children of the Highlanders, “…for holding our hands when we are bleeding and in pain. Thank you for all your support.”

At the close of the meeting, club members were given a choice to consider whether Highlanders will play in the Puma League next year or not, in light of the dwindling number of clubs in the region.

Players unanimously voiced their desire to play in the Puma League saying the stiff competition presented them with an opportunity to improve their skills on the field.

“Playing in the Puma League is what drew me to the Highlanders Club. It gives us an opportunity to test ourselves,” said Daniel Halforty on behalf of the club.

ALSO READ: Highlanders ends rugby season on a high note

The prize-giving ceremony:

• In the prize-giving ceremony that followed, Booysen was named ‘Sportsman of the Year’, while the title of ‘Senior Player of the Year’ was awarded to Shaka Nkosi, and ‘Junior Player of the Year’ went to Wessel Renison.
• Daniel Halforty was recognised as the ‘Most Loyal Player of the Year’, Brayn Luthuli was commended for being the ‘Player who made the Best Progress’, and Andile Mbonane was identified as the ‘Player with the Most Potential’.
• Jean Snyman received the award for scoring the most points in the season and Anton van Rooyen was awarded for scoring the most tries.
• The ‘Sportsmanship’ award went to Daniel Halforty, Calla van Greunan was named ‘Committee Member of the Year’ and Henk Booysen bagged the award for ‘Clubman of the Year’.
• Highlanders fourth team was declared ‘Team of the Year’, while Shaka Nkosi was recognised as the Highlanders ‘Best Defender’, and Wessel Renison was awarded for attending the most practices.
• Finally, Nipho Ntshangase was this year’s red-faced recipient of the ‘Handles’.

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