Rugby Changed My Life: The Ashwin Willemse Story

His tell all book looks at the life of this 34 year old and the hardships he faced in his childhood, from growing up without a father and how he managed to escape a toxic environment of drugs and gangsterism.

He reveals how growing up without a father led him down a path of self-destruction to a point where he tried to commit suicide.

He tells of how he found himself in a whirlwind of drugs and gangsters. Growing up without a father and having to search for him for 20 years was a gruelling, frustrating and infuriating journey.

In the book, he also expresses how grateful he is to his mother, Gustava Grootboom, his loving grandparents and to his teacher who suggested that rugby might be a way for Ashwin to channel his anger, frustration and rage. 

His teacher was right. Rugby did indeed work for Ashwin and it impacted his life in a way that he could not have ever imagine.

Ashwin talked about how rugby changed his life and how it helped him overcome all those years of pain to a place of ultimate redemption.  

He says “If I look at myself, I simply cannot ignore the impact that rugby has had on my life. It has been a point of direction, made me goal oriented. I owe a lot to rugby”.

Ashwin does not want his children to go through what he went through growing up. He does not just want to be a father, he wants his children to have a tangible of a father. He wants his children to experience what it is life to come from a loving home and family. 

He also said, “My wish for my children is that when they get to that final hour, they must say ‘I am happy and content with my contribution’”.

Ashwin also shared about his love for music and how he grew up listening to the late rapper Tupac Shakur and Kenny Rogers. He says laughingly that these are still his favourite musicians of all time.