Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute seeks female rugby players

If you are a young girl in Alexandra and other townships aged between 18 and 24 years and have a keen interest in playing the game of rugby, then you need not look any further.

The recently formed Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute is just the right place as the institute is looking for young girls with the keen desire to play rugby while at the same time pursuing a career of your choice within the game of rugby or even outside.

Speaking at the launch of the institute, the organisation’s manager Lucretia Aucamp said the gender gap within rugby was frightening and hence the need to mount a massive campaign to attract female athletes of the game especially focusing on 18 to 24 year-olds.

“Women’s rugby is growing rapidly and we in South Africa don’t want to lag behind. The sad reality is that the areas within the country that hold the biggest pool of women’s rugby talent are within the rural and low-income areas like your townships.

“It’s for this reason why we are paying special attention to those areas but without closing the door to talent from other areas as well. These women come from difficult circumstances and have not been afforded the sporting opportunities that many others enjoy,” Aucamp said.

She added that the time was now to provide opportunities to these women and the institute would do just that, to help transform the female sporting landscape of the country. Aucamp cited Babalwa Latsha, the first African professional female rugby player who hails from Khayelitsha in Cape Town.

Aucamp called on those interested in a career in rugby or even in another field to contact the heads of Women’s Rugby Development at the institute, Catherine Lowane and Jaco Coetzer to apply.

The institute, which is a registered non-profit company, is based at Springs Technical High School and will offer a holistic development of female players through its partnership with UXI Private Education.

The institute will offer players careers in and after rugby such as coaching, sports coordination and administration, sport science manager, sport management, marketing, fitness centre manager and instructor, and learnerships or apprenticeships in plumbing, welding, bricklaying, plant and animal production, and mixed farming systems and ecotourism.