Wasps Rugby Club welcomes all to the hive

Starting with a group of junior rugby players, Wasps Rugby Club, established in 2010, has grown from strength to strength.

At the start of April, the club had its first-week opener with one of the largest turnout of players attending in recent history.

Rachelle Campbell, Wasps marketing manager, explained the club is regarded as a development club, helping players grow their skills and develop their passion for the game.

She said its members come from various schools in Edenvale and surrounding towns with learners coming from schools as far as Jeppe, KES and even schools in Alexandra.

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Rachelle explained the executive team members, who are all volunteers, have a common goal – to give club members the best opportunity in the sport.

“We want to grow the club into one of the leading development rugby clubs in Gauteng.

“Based at Edenvale High, the club is a great asset to the community,” she said.

Campbell explained although many of the Wasps members are learners, the club’s objective is to grow the sport, not take away from school rugby.

“It is here to complement school sports and develop learners from third-team players into second or first-team players.”

Executive board member Walter Trevisan said they established the Wasps after a split in the Panthers Rugby Club.

He explained at the time the members did not see eye to eye and wanted to ensure the development of rugby and the youth continued.

“Brian Smith applied to the Golden Lions Union for a youth club, which was unusual on its own because most of the GLU clubs were seniors.”

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He said since then the club has grown into one of the three biggest development clubs, with the other two being the Pirates and Diggers rugby clubs.

Explaining the core principles of the Wasps Trevisan said, “The club focuses on development. It’s not about the results or winning.”

“We also do not have A, B or C teams; we make equal strength teams where children can help each other and learn,” said Trevisan.

He said it was always great to see players develop on the field and as individuals, as their confidence and experience grow.

Echoing the success of the club’s open week. Trevisan said since Covid-19 the club has struggled to attract younger players.

“Our first week’s practice was one of the biggest ones we ever had. There were more than 20 players in each age group.”

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Besides developing the sport, Wasps Rugby Club supports underprivileged players through their Boots for Brothers and Sisters initiative.

Lance Harris, chairperson of the Wasps Senior Club, said he and the club worked closely with Play it Forward Jozi.

This is an initiative where they started to collect second-hand sporting equipment.

“I contacted one organiser, asking for a rugby kit and it has grown with the help of the community,” said Harris.

He said annually the club hands out 50 pairs of rugby boots to players in need of equipment. Other items donated include scrum caps, balls, pants, and socks.

He said they donated about 200 pairs of shoes.

Harris said none of this would be possible without the community’s generosity.

Explaining the way collections work, Harris said the Wasps will often have collection boxes at other clubs or during a game day asking for donations of rugby equipment from the community instead of an entrance fee.

Hoping to develop the sport, Trevisan encouraged those interested to visit the club to try out the sport.

“Those who cannot afford the fees will be helped. We do not like turning away people with a passion and drive for the sport, however, we do have a vetting process.”

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Trevisan also encouraged schools and coaches to get involved with the club.

“We enjoy working with schools; we want to help develop their rugby programmes and promote the sport,” he said.

For more information, email Info@waspsrugbyclub.co.za or visit the club’s Facebook page.