Nashua Rugby Skills Project; Nurturing the next generation of rugby stars

“The players whose skills have improved the most will have the opportunity to attend the 2017 Rugby Currie Cup later this year.”

February 17, 2017

Zianne Leibrandt 2 minutes read

Retired Springbok player, Dean hall and Shadow ball founder, Gary Crookes.

Becoming a professional rugby player requires extreme discipline.

It’s all about time and energy dedicated to perfecting skills, but without the right guidance, many players don’t know where to start.

Ferrum coaches, Aubrey de Jager and Delarey du Preez with the Grade 8 rugby players.

This is why Nashua has started the Rugby Skills Project; a programme dedicated to rapidly improve young rugby players’ passing and catching skills under the watchful eye of experts.
According to Newcastle Nashua Sales Manager, Ashley Kallis, the Nashua Rugby Skills Project aims to improve ball skills at schools across South Africa by 20 per cent.

The Nashua Team:
Malinda Ferreira, Christo Els, Ashley Kallis, Anine Lourens, Eugene Engelbrecht, Ivan Versteegh and Mahendren Govender.

The challenge began at the end of 2015 and has already benefited 400 children so far through its skills improvement coaching clinics.

The initiative was created by The Great Sporting Goods Company, who runs The Shadow Ball Academy, which is a rugby skills academy focused on ball skills, mainly passing and catching. The academy uses a uniquely designed, flat-sided ball, named the shadow ball. This ball allows players to practise passing and catching on their own, in the same way golfers do on the driving range, without a field or team, to increase the frequency of practice.

Dean Hall shows the players how the shadowball works.

The shadow ball, designed by Gary Crookes, can be be thrown against a wall and caught by the player to improve accuracy.
The initiative marks a new era in Nashua’s mission to nurture the next generation of rugby stars, and gives the players the resources and leadership they need to reach their full potential.

Nashua franchises across South Africa have put forward schools in their areas to be visited by the Rugby Skills Project Road Show. Each selected school was paired with an underprivileged school from the same region, and both school teams had the full experience of the project.

Aspiring Grade 8 rugby players, ruben Strydom and Scelo Mashinini.

More than 36 schools were selected. Following the workshops, every school will receive its own rugby skill pack, containing 10 shadow balls and a coach carry bag, manual and log book for the training.

On February 6, Ferrum High School and Hope High School gathered at the Ferrum Sports Grounds, where they were met by Gary Crookes, retired Springbok player Dean Hall, Nashua members and a team of coaches who demonstrated the benefits of the shadow ball.

Ashley Kallis, Anine Lourens and Malinda Ferreira with the Hope High School team.

According to Mr kallis, the players will be evaluated in May to determine whether or not the project had improved the players skills.

“The players whose skills have improved the most will have the opportunity to attend the 2017 Rugby Currie Cup later this year.”

Reuben Viviers practises the shadowball skills.

Mr Kallis said it was important to promote the sport as rugby was one of South Africa’s leading sports, and a coveted profession. Being a part of such a project could help aspiring rugby players reach their dreams of making a career out of the sport one day, he concluded.