Winning The Away Game

What do catamarans, tequila, and elite rugby have in common? On the surface—nothing. But underneath, this episode reveals the mindset of people who refuse to live ordinary lives. Ricky Maia and Percy Montgomery unpack what drives obsession-level commitment—from building a boat from scratch and sailing across the Atlantic, to kicking in World Cup finals and launching a tequila brand after rugby. This is a conversation about chaos, risk, reinvention, and the kind of thinking that makes unconventional lives work. If you’ve ever felt like your path doesn’t make sense—this episode will. Chapters 00:00 Introduction  00:02 The 2007 World Cup and elite pressure  00:05 Leaving systems that no longer work  00:08 Building a catamaran from scratch  00:12 The reality behind chasing freedom  00:15 Adapting across countries and cultures  00:18 Losing money and entering the US market  00:21 Rock bottom and rebuilding through obsession  00:24 Life after rugby and launching tequila  00:28 Finding purpose in unconventional paths  00:31 Resourcefulness vs resources  00:34 Advice for young South Africans  00:37 Why doing what you love matters  00:40 AI vs community  00:42 Legacy and long-term impact Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/26fB2unP9Ih6IA3QkjnGQF?si=4b4380f24a144716 Listen on Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/winning-the-away-game/id1853818584 Connect with Justinus:https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinusadriaanse/ Connect with Flip:https://www.linkedin.com/in/flipvandermerwe/ Check out our other channels:  Website: https://wtagpodcast.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/winning-the-away-game-podcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wtag_podcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wtag_podcast Winning The Away Game is produced by Jonathan Warncke  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%8E%99-jonathan-warncke-45b2095/ Ping Productions: https://www.pingproductions.net/

In this episode of Winning The Away Game, we sit down with two true South African sporting icons — Springbok legend Rob Louw and world champion surfer Shaun Tomson. This is a powerful, wide-ranging conversation about breaking barriers, choosing adventure over comfort, leadership through change, and rebuilding life after elite sport. From apartheid-era tours and the evolution of South African rugby, to conquering Hawaii’s waves, building global businesses, and finding purpose after profound personal loss — this episode is about resilience in its truest form. We explore what it really means to win the away game when the rules keep changing. Chapters 00:00 – Introduction & welcome 02:33 – What is your favourite Springbok memory? 07:54 – What was the 1981 tour really like behind the scenes? 10:42 – Shaun, how did rugby shape your upbringing in Durban? 15:02 – Rob, when did you know rugby would define your life? 18:38 – What creates respect across different sports? 24:43 – How did Doc Craven influence your career and values? 29:49 – Shaun, who were your biggest mentors growing up? 38:29 – What did it take to leave South Africa and play overseas? 46:50 – Why were you banned after switching to rugby league? 48:10 – Shaun, what drove you to move to Hawaii and go global? 55:26 – Rob, how did you rebuild life after rugby ended? 1:02:05 – Shaun, how did you navigate life after retiring from sport? 1:10:30 – What role does purpose play in business and leadership? 1:13:30 – Why resilience and hope matter more than ever today Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/26fB2unP9Ih6IA3QkjnGQF?si=4b4380f24a144716 Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/winning-the-away-game/id1853818584 Connect with Justinus: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinusadriaanse/ Connect with Flip: https://www.linkedin.com/in/flipvandermerwe/ Check out our other channels: Website: https://wtagpodcast.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/winning-the-away-game-podcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wtag_podcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wtag_podcast Winning The Away Game is produced by Jonathan Warncke Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%8E%99-jonathan-warncke-45b2095/ Ping Productions: https://www.pingproductions.net/

In this episode of Winning The Away Game, we sit down with Springbok legend Coach G (Gurthro Steenkamp) and entrepreneur (and Shark Tank Shark) Tim Vieira for a deep, honest conversation about reinvention, resilience, and starting again when life forces change. We unpack what happens when identity is stripped away — through injury, rejection, business failure, or relocation — and how purpose is rebuilt through discomfort, discipline, and perspective. From iconic Springbok memories to brutal lessons in France, Angola, and Portugal, this episode goes far beyond sport or business. This is a conversation about who you become when the comfort zone disappears. Chapters 00:00 – Opening montage & episode themes 01:12 – Welcome to Winning The Away Game 01:33 – Introducing Coach G 02:09 – Introducing Tim Vieira 02:59 – What is your favourite Springbok memory? 04:12 – How old were you in 1995 and why did it matter? 05:49 – Where did your rugby journey begin, Coach G? 07:12 – When did rugby shift from a dream to a vision? 08:50 – What did the Cheetahs years teach you about toughness? 10:38 – How did early setbacks shape your mindset? 13:09 – Tim, what is your origin story growing up in Johannesburg? 16:40 – How did rugby influence your early life? 16:49 – Why start a microbrewery at 18? 18:44 – What did your first business failure teach you? 19:38 – Why did you decide to move to Angola? 21:29 – How did failure prepare you for later success? 23:27 – Why did you leave South Africa for France? 24:26 – How did rejection reshape your discipline and drive? 26:04 – What does it take to earn respect at the Bulls? 28:16 – Why deliberately step out of your comfort zone? 30:59 – What was it like landing in Angola and Portugal? 32:57 – How do values and reputation carry you through reinvention? 35:08 – What does “profit for purpose” really mean? 39:55 – What was the hardest part of adapting to French culture? 42:24 – How did loneliness and family pressure test you? 45:16 – What did France teach you about balance and resilience? 47:14 – How did you respond when your career was suddenly threatened? 49:20 – When did purpose shift from ego to family? 51:18 – How did Shark Tank Portugal change your trajectory? 53:24 – Why is Europe such a challenging place to build businesses? 55:42 – What does success look like later in life? 56:55 – Why do we need less than we think we do? 58:20 – What ultimately matters most? 01:01:10 – Why faith and values anchor you through uncertainty 01:03:05 – How family reframes success later in life 01:05:02 – What we get wrong about money, ambition, and fulfillment 01:07:12 – Why contentment is a competitive advantage 01:09:18 – Letting go of ego, status, and comparison 01:11:30 – What legacy really means when the game ends 01:13:40 – Advice for the next generation chasing success abroad 01:15:55 – Why health is the ultimate currency 01:17:20 – What truly matters at the end of it all 01:18:45 – Closing thoughts & gratitude Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/26fB2unP9Ih6IA3QkjnGQF?si=4b4380f24a144716 Listen on Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/winning-the-away-game/id1853818584 Connect with Justinus:https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinusadriaanse/ Connect with Flip:https://www.linkedin.com/in/flipvandermerwe/ Check out our other channels: Website: https://wtagpodcast.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/winning-the-away-game-podcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wtag_podcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wtag_podcast Winning The Away Game is produced by Jonathan Warncke Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%8E%99-jonathan-warncke-45b2095/ Ping Productions: https://www.pingproductions.net/

In episode 2 , we sit down with two South African giants of the Away Game: 1995 Rugby World Cup winner and Wiesenhof Coffee founder Kobus Wiese, and Cape Classics and Indaba Foundation founder André Shearer. From lifting the Webb Ellis Cup to lifting espresso machines and wine cases in far-flung markets, we unpack how teams, attitude and sheer graft turn rugby lessons into global businesses. In this episode, we talk about: ● How the Springboks became South Africa’s best brand builder when everything else was failing ● Kobus’s blind date that turned into a marriage and a coffee empire ● André’s unlikely journey from teetotal medical student and model to New York wine merchant ● What it really takes to start a business in a country where no one knows your story ● Why attitude often matters more than CVs in building winning teams ● The brutal honesty of Players’ Player of the Year and what it teaches us about feedback in business ● The power of early childhood education and the vision behind the Indaba Foundation ● Why less than 1% of an education budget can break an entire economy over 20 years ● Coffee, wine and why the best leaders are willing to mop the floor and host the boardroom If you love Springbok rugby, entrepreneurship, South African wine and coffee, this one is for you. 00:00 – Welcome to Winning the Away Game 01:06 – Introducing Kobus Wiese & André Shearer 02:32 – Springboks as South Africa’s greatest brand builders 03:12 – Flip’s dad, Jan Boland Coetzee and scrum lessons for life 07:16 – When did Kobus realise he could make it as a Bok? 10:12 – Herklaas Engelbrecht and falling in love with rugby 11:49 – André’s journey: medicine, modelling and stumbling into wine 14:11 – The first cellar tasting that changed everything 17:46 – Landing in New York with South African wine no one knew 23:22 – Two-sided marketplace: convincing farmers and US buyers 25:53 – South Africa’s missing national brand story 28:12 – Kobus’s second date that led to Wiesenhof Coffee 31:33 – Chaos on day one and learning the trade from scratch 35:30 – The real lows of entrepreneurship and finding trustworthy people 38:12 – Building a business in New York with no network 43:59 – The ethics of relationships and why partners matter more than terms 49:37 – Rugby lessons for business: sacrifice, attitude and honesty 53:46 – Rowing, leadership and leading from the front 60:51 – The Indaba Foundation and early childhood education 65:05 – From 46% to 92%: what early learning can unlock 71:23 – Entrepreneurs, honest government and proper parenting 81:57 – Kobus’s next chapter dream: classical music and the violin 83:40 – Backs play the piano, forwards move the piano 84:08 – Wrap-up and how to support the work About Winning the Away Game: We are Justinus Adriaanse and Flip van der Merwe. Connect with us on LinkedIn. Got a guest you’d love to see on the show? - Drop some suggestions in the comments and we’ll try to get them on the show. And if you have a question you think we should ask our guests? Let us know. Winning The Away Game is available on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and on the Winning The Away Game website at www.wtagpodcast.com. Subscribe to our newsletter for latest releases and behind the scenes content. Winning The Away Game is produced by Jonathan Warncke

In this episode we sit down with two South Africans who know all about pressure, change, and starting again: former Springbok captain Corne Krige and blind adventurer and speaker Hein Wagner. They take us from leaving home for boarding school as young kids, to captaining the Springboks and crossing oceans, to starting businesses and building institutions that create opportunity for others. Along the way we talk discipline, identity, independence, and what it really means to build a country that works for everyone. In this episode we cover: - Growing up far from home: boarding school at 4 and 5, and learning independence early - Corne’s journey from Zambia to Paarl Boys’ and captaining the Springboks on debut - Hein’s story of blindness, adventure, and crossing the Atlantic with a deaf skipper - Land-speed records, Cape Epic on a tandem, Ironman, and chasing challenge after challenge - The brutal England test, retiring from rugby, and starting over in business - Building discipline, resilience, and identity beyond a Springbok jersey - Moving to Sweden and how a different system changed Hein’s view of South Africa - Hein’s daughter’s leukemia, the Swedish healthcare system, and what “a country that works for everyone” can look like About Winning the Away Game: We are Justinus Adriaanse and Flip van der Merwe. Connect with us on LinkedIn. Got a guest you’d love to see on the show? - Drop some suggestions in the comments and we’ll try to get them on the show. And if you have a question you think we should ask our guests? Let us know. Winning The Away Game is available on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and on the Winning The Away Game website at www.wtagpodcast.com. Subscribe to our newsletter for latest releases and behind the scenes content. Winning The Away Game is produced by Jonathan Warncke What both guests wish their 16-year-old selves knew about gratitude, mistakes, and giving back

Winning the Away Game launches on 20 November, just before the Ireland Test. Your hosts are serial entrepreneur, Justinus Adriaanse, and Springbok #818, Phillip “Flip” van der Merwe. This groundbreaking podcast brings together two powerful forces: Springbok rugby legends and South African business leaders who've made their mark internationally. Each episode pairs these extraordinary individuals to share their stories of resilience, legacy, and what it truly takes to succeed on foreign soil. Whether you love Springbok rugby, business strategy or stories of South African grit going global, this is your new home for insight and inspiration. Listen to the trailer and get ready for fun, insightful conversations with leaders who have built remarkable careers abroad and stayed rooted in South Africa’s future. Catch Winning the Away Game on all major platforms including YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts starting November 20th. Follow Justinus, Flip, and the show on LinkedIn to stay updated with new episodes and behind-the-scenes content.