Winning The Away Game

Ping Productions
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Biweekly

Winning the Away Game launches on 20 November, just before the Ireland Test. This new podcast brings together successful South Africans who have conquered the world and pairs them with Springbok legends, including our co-host Flip van der Merwe. In every episode we look at resilience, legacy and the mindset needed to win when the odds are stacked against you. Whether you love Springbok rugby, business strategy or stories of South African grit going global, this is your new home for insight and inspiration.

  1. 1d ago

    Jason Zehmke on Building a Rugby Empire in a Country That Doesn't Play It

    Jason Zehmke left Uitenhage for Charlotte, North Carolina on a six-month rugby stint and never came back — twenty-six years, a law degree turned banking career, and one of America's largest youth rugby clubs later. This episode is for anyone building something from scratch in a place that has no reason to want it: the operators, the emigrants, the coaches and the parents. Jason breaks down how the Charlotte Cardinals recruit kids who have never watched a rugby match, why he refuses to call his teams A, B and C, and what South Africa's historic schools are quietly losing to money. It is also an honest look at what it costs to build a life abroad, and what pulls you back to the people who put you on the field in the first place. 00:00 Down 8-0 in the Final 00:18 Welcome to Winning the Away Game 01:55 Favourite Springbok Memory 03:00 Growing Up in Uitenhage 07:11 The Talent Drain from South Africa's Oldest Schools 09:20 Three Tiers of Schoolboy Rugby 12:22 Building the Charlotte Cardinals 15:46 Why Kids Are Leaving Football 18:26 Colour Teams, Not A, B and C 19:26 Six Months in Charlotte, Twenty-Six Years Later 24:55 Homesickness and the South African Network 32:31 Why He Wears the Grey Armband 40:51 AI Risk at Wells Fargo 47:35 A Country That Works for Everyone 53:18 Looking Ahead to the World Cup Winning The Away Game is brought to you by The Lekker Network. The Lekker Network brings together South Africa's top entrepreneurs, executives, innovators, and everyday people from all over the world to connect, engage, support, do business with each other, and create lasting impact. Find out more at https://thelekkernetwork.com/ 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/

    Jason Zehmke on Building a Rugby Empire in a Country That Doesn't Play It

  2. Aug 13

    Greg Martin on the Cold LinkedIn Message That Changed His Entire Career

    In 2011 a stranger messaged Greg Martin on LinkedIn asking if he would cover an IOC session. He had to Google what the IOC was, quoted for the job anyway, and has covered every Winter, Summer and Youth Olympic Games since London. This episode is for anyone building a career out of chances they are not yet qualified for — and for every South African abroad who is trying to work out how much of home to carry with them. Winning The Away Game is brought to you by The Lekker Network. The Lekker Network brings together South Africa’s top entrepreneurs, executives, innovators, and everyday people from all over the world to connect, engage, support, do business with each other, and create lasting impact. Find out more at https://thelekkernetwork.com/   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/

    Greg Martin on the Cold LinkedIn Message That Changed His Entire Career

  3. Aug 6

    Wayne Hendricks on Protecting Mandela and Unlearning What He Was Taught

    Wayne Hendricks was the most junior member of Nelson Mandela’s protection team when he walked into the President’s office wearing a novelty lapel pin he had not read properly. Thirty years later he runs global security for MetLife, has worked across Goldman Sachs and Macquarie, and has landed in more countries than most people can name — and the lesson from that first exchange still sets how he hires, leads and argues. This episode is for operators who have moved countries, changed industries, or rebuilt an identity from scratch, and for anyone who suspects that technical skill is a shrinking advantage. The core tension is a hard one: Wayne argues South Africans have to stop reasoning from what was done to them and start reasoning from what happens next — while agreeing, without hedging, that apartheid still shapes how millions grow up. He holds both at once, and explains why most people can’t. Along the way: the geography lottery, a girl called Rebecca who wanted to be a pilot, and the day decisiveness locked the President of South Africa inside a stadium. Winning The Away Game is brought to you by The Lekker Network. The Lekker Network brings together South Africa’s top entrepreneurs, executives, innovators, and everyday people from all over the world to connect, engage, support, do business with each other, and create lasting impact. Find out more at https://thelekkernetwork.com/ 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/

    Wayne Hendricks on Protecting Mandela and Unlearning What He Was Taught

  4. Jul 30

    Gary Boddington and Wayne Fyvie - Building a Second Career From Scratch

    Gary Boddington represented South Africa at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, then built a business intelligence company out of a Durban garage that was eventually acquired by Sage — a journey that landed him in a ski resort in British Columbia. Wayne Fyvie played three tests for South Africa, captained the Sharks, and walked out of a change room in Cardiff knowing his body was finished and his income was about to disappear. This episode is for anyone facing the end of one identity and the blank page of the next: athletes in transition, founders in the grind, and operators trying to work out what they are actually building for. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open 00:41 Welcome: Gary Boddington and Wayne Fyvie 02:56 Favourite Springbok Memories 05:30 The Ticky Box That Changed Wayne’s Life 08:07 First Cap, Injuries and the Press 11:56 Gary’s Road From Ice Hockey to Atlanta 15:37 Walking Into the Stadium at Atlanta 1996 19:10 Retirement and the Salary That Stops 22:32 The Haircut That Cost 200 Rand 27:28 Job First or Play First: Which Is Better? 33:52 Mentors, Relationships and Working the Room 37:54 Eating Glass for 30 Years 41:31 The Two-Year Plan and the Sage Acquisition 47:41 Sales, Cartridges and Solving Problems 50:35 Finding Purpose at 38 54:49 Building a South Africa That Works Winning The Away Game is brought to you by The Lekker Network. The Lekker Network brings together South Africa's top entrepreneurs, executives, innovators, and everyday people from all over the world to connect, engage, support, do business with each other, and create lasting impact. Find out more at https://thelekkernetwork.com/ 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/

    Gary Boddington and Wayne Fyvie - Building a Second Career From Scratch

  5. Jul 23

    Entrepreneurship Isn't Easy, with Deon Gouws and Alistair Hargreaves

    This episode is for founders, operators, and anyone rebuilding an identity after a chapter of life ends. Deon Gouws, Chief Investment Officer at Credo in London, and Alistair Hargreaves, former Springbok and Saracens captain turned Wolf Pack co-founder, sit down with Justinus and Flip to talk about judgement under pressure and reinvention without a script. The core tension: rugby careers and investment careers both come with hard-won instincts, but neither guarantees you'll succeed the moment you step outside the environment that built them. From a stadium beer ban to the 2008 financial crisis to a concussion that ended a professional career, this is a conversation about building good judgement when certainty isn't available. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:49 Favourite Springbok Memories 08:29 Family, Fathers and the Game 09:54 Alistair's Springbok Memories 14:04 Growing Up Together in SA Rugby 17:34 The Concussion Decision 20:42 Building a Culture That Puts People First 23:56 From Cambridge to Credo 30:20 How Deon and Alistair Became Friends 34:53 The Myth of Transferable Skills 38:01 Building Wolf Pack From Scratch 47:04 Lessons From 2008 and Covid 51:00 Building a South Africa That Works for Everyone 55:00 World Cup 2027 and Sign Off Winning The Away Game is brought to you by The Lekker Network. The Lekker Network brings together South Africa's top entrepreneurs, executives, innovators, and everyday people from all over the world to connect, engage, support, do business with each other, and create lasting impact. Find out more at https://thelekkernetwork.com/ 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/

    Entrepreneurship Isn't Easy, with Deon Gouws and Alistair Hargreaves

  6. Jul 16

    Human Judgement In Coaching And Business Leadership - André Pretorius & Hank van der Merwe

    This episode is for anyone who has had to lead people without the authority, language, or home-field advantage they used to rely on. Andre Pretorius went from Springbok flyhalf to head coach in Japan, coaching players through a translator and rebuilding his entire leadership style from the ground up. Hank van der Merwe emigrated to Australia, lost most of his wealth in the process, and had to learn to lead people who didn't respond to the direct South African style that had always worked for him. Together they unpack the night Andre nearly lost his players' trust for good, why servant leadership isn't a buzzword, and what Hank believes AI can never replace: judgement. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open 00:44 Welcome and Episode Setup 01:53 Favourite Springbok Memories 09:29 The Culture Shock of Emigrating to Australia 17:20 From the Leopards to Coaching in Japan 20:52 The Loneliest Month of Andre's Career 28:33 The Night Andre Broke His Players 34:35 Servant Leadership and Letting Go of Ego 42:06 Why Hank Wrote Yes I Can 55:10 Trust, AI and the Future of Judgement 59:04 Connecting With the Next Generation 01:00:10 Hank's Advice for Parenting Teenagers 01:02:32 What Andre Has Learned About People in Japan 01:06:00 World Cup Predictions and Sign-Off Winning The Away Game is brought to you by The Lekker Network. The Lekker Network brings together South Africa's top entrepreneurs, executives, innovators, and everyday people from all over the world to connect, engage, support, do business with each other, and create lasting impact. Find out more at https://thelekkernetwork.com/ 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/

    Human Judgement In Coaching And Business Leadership - André Pretorius & Hank van der Merwe

  7. Jul 9

    Jonathan Mokuena and Ernie Kruger - Faith, Reinvention, and Life After Rugby

    What happens when the biggest decision of your life looks completely irrational to everyone around you? Former professional rugby players Jonathan Mokuena and Ernie Kruger share how faith, identity and purpose shaped the defining moments of their lives. From walking away from rugby dreams to rebuilding life in America, this conversation explores what it really means to succeed when success is no longer measured by status, titles or recognition. If you're an entrepreneur, leader, immigrant or anyone facing a difficult life decision, this episode offers practical wisdom on navigating uncertainty with conviction. Chapters 00:00 The Decision That Changed Everything 01:12 Meet Jonathan & Ernie 04:18 Favourite Rugby Memories 08:05 Walking Away From Rugby 14:36 Hearing "Turn Around" 19:42 Starting Again in America 27:18 The Four Stages of Immigration 35:10 Identity Beyond Sport 43:52 Confronting Racism 52:15 Faith During Uncertainty 01:01:40 Leadership Through Obedience 01:09:12 Final Reflections Winning The Away Game is brought to you by The Lekker Network. The Lekker Network brings together South Africa’s top entrepreneurs, executives, innovators, and everyday people from all over the world to connect, engage, support, do business with each other, and create lasting impact. Find out more at https://thelekkernetwork.com/ 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/

    Jonathan Mokuena and Ernie Kruger - Faith, Reinvention, and Life After Rugby

  8. Jul 2

    Keegan Daniel and Sven Boermeester - Turning Networks Into Impact

    This episode is for athletes, founders, operators, South Africans abroad, and anyone trying to turn credibility into something useful after the spotlight moves on. Keegan Daniel shares the hard reality of life after professional rugby: identity, purpose, financial planning, and the uncomfortable question of what value you can offer once the title no longer opens doors. Sven Boermeester brings the global builder’s view, showing how South African networks around the world can become more than nostalgia — they can become engines for opportunity, jobs, capital, and impact. Together, Keegan and Sven unpack the real away game: starting over, building pathways, using networks properly, and creating systems that help other people win. 00:00 Introduction 02:33 Favourite Springbok memories 05:40 Eastern Cape rugby and hidden talent 09:23 Keegan Daniel’s unusual pathway to Durban 10:30 Sven Boermeester’s global publishing journey 14:26 Captaining the Sharks and proving people wrong 16:34 Self-belief, arrogance, and controlling the controllables 19:14 The South African network advantage 21:20 The Dubai story that changed everything 26:22 How Winning The Away Game became a book 29:24 Japan, the Sharks, and knowing when to leave 34:01 The identity crisis after professional sport 47:27 What Keegan would tell his 20-year-old self 49:35 Building a South Africa that works for everyone 58:04 Diaspora, jobs, and bringing value home 01:01:23 Alumni networks and stories beyond the gates 01:06:47 Final question and World Cup hopes Winning The Away Game is brought to you by The Lekker Network. The Lekker Network brings together South Africa’s top entrepreneurs, executives, innovators, and everyday people from all over the world to connect, engage, support, do business with each other, and create lasting impact. Find out more at https://thelekkernetwork.com/ 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/

    Keegan Daniel and Sven Boermeester - Turning Networks Into Impact
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5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Winning the Away Game launches on 20 November, just before the Ireland Test. This new podcast brings together successful South Africans who have conquered the world and pairs them with Springbok legends, including our co-host Flip van der Merwe. In every episode we look at resilience, legacy and the mindset needed to win when the odds are stacked against you. Whether you love Springbok rugby, business strategy or stories of South African grit going global, this is your new home for insight and inspiration.

Information

  • Creator
    Ping Productions
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Winning The Away Game

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