{"id":531606,"date":"2026-03-10T18:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T18:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/531606\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T18:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T18:50:11","slug":"elite-south-african-coach-cheats-death-after-shedding-an-incredible-101kgs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/531606\/","title":{"rendered":"Elite South African coach cheats death after shedding an incredible 101kgs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Imagine being the size of behemoth props, Uini Atonio<\/a> or Ben Tameifuna<\/a>, with 45kgs added on for good measure. That\u2019s the burden Gareth Gilbert, head coach of the Netherlands\u2019 women\u2019s national team, has had to carry around for years.<\/p>\n

Gilbert used comfort eating and boozing to mask personal traumas and before you knew it, one of the biggest movers and shakers in Dutch rugby, in every sense of the word, had ballooned to 196kgs.<\/p>\n

Fearing for his life and concerned his over-sized frame wasn\u2019t sending a good message to aspiring young athletes in the Netherlands<\/a> rugby academy, Gilbert decided to take action.<\/p>\n

Three years ago he had a gastric band operation and following drastic lifestyle changes, he now weighs just 95kgs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe clinical record (in the Netherlands) I think was 107kgs, and I managed 101,\u201d Gilbert tells RugbyPass.<\/p>\n

At first, not even close family members recognised him, and it\u2019s only now that Gilbert is willing to share his remarkable story with RugbyPass.<\/p>\n

Explaining the motivation behind his remarkable weight loss journey, Gilbert says, \u201cI was standing in front of young players telling them they needed to do this and that if they wanted to become an elite athlete and I realised that I wasn\u2019t practicing what I preached.<\/p>\n

\u201cI basically started living life like the boys I coached, the programme we run is based on values, and it\u2019s saved my life to be honest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beauty of rugby is if you live by the values of the game, every day, it can bring you so much happiness, joy and fulfillment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilbert\u2019s battle against obesity was as much about what was going on in the top two inches, as those around his waist.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone sees the physical transformation but, at the end of the day, a lot of it comes down to the mental side of things,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore you have the operation you have to be in a mentally better space, and I had to lose 20kgs to show I was serious.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had a team around me, doctors and psychologists. who help you with your nutrition and stuff, to make sure you are well prepared.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you lose a lot of weight like this, there are a lot of of pros but also some cons when you have a gastric band operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a danger that you replace one addiction for another, and it can easily get out of hand and become quite destructive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the stats with regards to gastric bypass, five years after the operation a lot of people are back to square one, which is not a good stat.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, for me, I am determined not to allow that to happen because I am really enjoying being in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Gareth Gilbert pictured shortly after his gastric bypass operation in 2023<\/p>\n

As a child, Gilbert didn\u2019t have a problem with eating, but a string of events in adulthood caused things to steadily spiral out of control.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really in the last 15 years (before surgery) that I packed on the pounds,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was more emotional eating, and personal things that I didn\u2019t deal with \u2013 serious injuries in my rugby career, the death of my mother and things like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood and alcohol and not living the way you should live caught up with me and it got to the time where I either I decided I need to change or I am going go down that path of losing my life,<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 196kgs, getting up off a couch was strenuous. The decision was do something about it or die. It\u2019s the best decision I have ever made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paarl-born Gilbert has not only transformed himself but also the shape of Dutch rugby.<\/p>\n

The son of a Botswanan chicken farmer, who played for renowned rugby institutions, Pretoria Boys\u2019 High School, the University of Stellenbosch and Maties, left South Africa<\/a> for the Netherlands in 2003 to play prop for RC \u2018t Gooi.<\/p>\n

He briefly returned home and played for Botswana in the African 2007 World Cup qualifiers, but most of the last two decades have been spent living and coaching rugby in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old has had a huge impact with not only the national teams but with the creation of the National Training Centre in Amsterdam and the regional academies that feed into the senior setup.<\/p>\n

The Dutch rugby landscape now is unrecognisable to how it was when Gilbert pitched up in his 20s, and the same can be said of his physical appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt rugby games, when I walk up to people and say, \u2018how you are doing?\u2019, you can see they don\u2019t know it is me until I open my mouth and talk,\u201d he reveals.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can include some of my own family members in that. My nieces and nephews say, \u2018you\u2019re not my uncle Gareth\u2019, which I\u2019ll take!\u201d<\/p>\n

Having led the Netherlands to second place in the Rugby Europe U20 Men\u2019s Championship in November, Gilbert\u2019s focus is now on improving the fortunes of the senior national women\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely think I am a changed person. I think all the stuff I have gone through over the last few years has helped me to develop where I am at the moment,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing vulnerable and open to talk about things with coaches, mentors and friends, and sharing stories and experiences that are difficult, are key to staying in this space.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I look my coaching now, it is so positive, I am really, really happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a phenomenal journey with the boys, I\u2019ve coached many of them since they were 10 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI finished up with them in November, and now I am with the women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am diving head first into the women\u2019s pathway and helping the game grow here.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are big plans for the Dutch women, with WXV and trying to qualify for the next World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am super exicted to be with this group. We have some phenomenal talent but also some amazing, amazing people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Imagine being the size of behemoth props, Uini Atonio or Ben Tameifuna, with 45kgs added on for good…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-531606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}