Deaf Springboks breaking new ground
South African Deaf Rugby is taking on World Champions, Wales in a few days. Rekord spoke to the coach to learn more about the team.
The South African rugby team for the deaf is to take on Wales, current international deaf rugby champion, at Hoërskool Waterkloof this Saturday and the following Wednesday.
Danie Engelbrecht, coach of the South African deaf team is intent on conquering Wales.
“We got official test status from SA Rugby Union on 27 March 2014. We got to work immediately by having our trials from 20 to 27 September 2014,” Engelbrecht said this week.
“A group of 26 South African national deaf rugby players were announced after this — 23 from Pretoria, two from Kwazulu Natal and one from Vredendal.”
The teams kept busy by playing for the Eastern Eagles Rugby Club in the Carlton League, while they won matches against UJ, TUT and Centurion Rugby Club.
Engebrecht said: “I would like people across South Africa to know that while the players are indeed deaf, they are just as fit and committed as other players.”
Coach Engelbrecht has 13 years experience in coaching deaf rugby players. Twenty of these players were part of the first team in the Transoranje School for the deaf, a team that was unbeatable for 64 matches between 2002 and 2009.
Engelbrecht said the perfect game plan included lots of running. He was seeking to instil a culture in his team where every player participated equally, with the aim to score tries.
Gestures or signals were being used to communicate with players.
“Because deaf players rely completely on sight, they remain primarily focused on the ball carrier and nothing else”, he explains.
Asked about their aspirations, Engelbrecht said dethroning Wales as the World Champions came up first. The next target was to win the next Deaf World Cup Championships in Wales next year.
“After all the World Cup excitement, we would very much like to attend the Deaflympics, where a National South African sevens team will participate”, said Engelbrecht.
Engelbrecht urged people to support the deaf team against Wales on Saturday and next Wednesday at Hoërskool Waterkloof. Both games start at 15:00.
The games would be broadcast live by Blue Dot Livestreaming and Pretoria FM.
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 072 435 7717.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
- We have exciting news! We’re offering a free alert to help you always be in the loop. Send an email with the word ‘Subscribe’ to breakingnews@rekord.co.za to receive your free daily breaking news update.
