How Swys is building a World Cup team
EXCLUSIVE: In the dynamic and physically demanding world of rugby, the role of the coach extends far beyond the sidelines.
They are architects of strategy, mentors shaping character, and motivators.
And that is certainly clear when you look at the Springbok Women’s team coached by Swys de Bruin.
De Bruin, the former Springbok consultant under Rassie Erasmus and Lions head coach, returned to the coaching arena after a five-year break to take up the role of High Performance Coach of the Springbok Women.
Sunday travel from France to Spain done. #BokWomen #grassrootstogreatness@FNBSA pic.twitter.com/RFOylehuzf
— SA Women’s Rugby (@WomenBoks) April 13, 2025
Since De Bruin took over in August last year, the Springbok Women’s performance has risen massively.
The side has recorded notable victories over the Barbarians, Spain, and Japan (WXV 2) in 2024, while they also came close to shocking Australia – falling just short in a narrow defeat during the WXV 2 held in Cape Town.
The Bok Women will play their first Test of the year this weekend against Spain and head into the match as favourites.
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Prior to De Bruin, there was a sense of defeat when talking about the Springbok Women’s team. However, he has quickly turned things around along with assistant coaches Bafana Nhleko, Franzel September and Laurian Johannes-Haupt.
When asked how he managed to overturn the Bok Women’s fortunes, lock Danelle Lochner revealed it’s his coaching method.
“He [Swys de Bruin] has got a very different approach to coaching rugby; he does not like to overcoach,” Lochner told Rugby365.
“He would rather go on the field and play out different scenarios while you are training, instead of sitting and drawing on a whiteboard and explaining everything.
“He is very open-minded. We do our job, and then we can have fun and play rugby because that is why we are here.
“For me, it is very fun because everyone has something different they bring to the game. It is not all about running forward or into someone, making a tackle – it is also about the offloads, the sidesteps, the chip-and-chases, all those things, and he embraces that a lot more.
“It is really exciting. I think he has given us space where we can be who we want to be within the team.”
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Sharing her teammate’s sentiments, scrumhalf Alicia Willemse said he brings a fun element to training.
“Coach Swys is actually a funny guy.
“He knows exactly what he is doing. He knows what he wants from the team,” Willemse told Rugby365.
“The assistant coaches – Bafana works with the backline, and Franzel and Laurian focus on the set-piece – then Coach Swys puts it all together and adds the attack.
“All of them help us to be a better team.”
Should the Springbok Women continue on this upward trajectory, there is no reason why they can’t make the playoffs at the 2025 World Cup.
However, it will be easier said than done, considering the Bok Women lost all their matches at the 2022 World Cup.
The Bok Women open their World Cup campaign against Brazil (August 24), before they face Italy (August 31) and France (September 7).
The Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 is coming to England. Click here to buy tickets.
