The eight SA Rugby Women’s Youth Training Centres (YTCs) will celebrate Women’s Day and the massive strides made in women’s rugby since its inception in South Africa with two exciting tournaments in George and Pretoria.
The aim of the tournaments, which were first introduced last season and will be played on 6 and 7 August, is to offer players between the ages of 14 and 18 the opportunity to celebrate their femininity by doing what they love, playing rugby. It will also allow the respective YTCs to measure their progress.
The tournaments – funded by the Department of Sport and Recreation – will be split into North and South Sections, to be played at the Eersterust Rugby Club in Pretoria and PW Botha High School in George respectively, with the U16 and U18 teams in each section participating in separate tournaments at the same venue.
The Limpopo Blue Bulls, Blue Bulls, Griquas and KwaZulu-Natal will battle it out in the North Section, while the South Section will see Border, Eastern Province, Western Province and SWD going head-to-head.
“The YTC programme was launched in 2015 with the objective to grow the base of women’s players and to improve the quality of the game in the country,” said SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux.
“The Youth Training Centres also prepare the players for the demands of high performance rugby through specialised training sessions, conditioning, nutritional programmes, and scheduled matches to expose them to competition regularly.
“Six centres were initially developed, but it was increased to eight last year with the introduction of SWD and Griquas.”
YTC fixtures (Saturday, 6 August):
North Section, U16 – Eersterust Rugby Club, Pretoria
10h00: KZN vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
11h10: Blue Bulls vs Griquas
North Section, U18
13h10: Griquas vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
14h40: KZN vs Blue Bulls
South Section U16 – PW Botha High School, George
10h00: Border vs SWD
11h10: Eastern Province vs Western Province
South Section, U18
13h10: Eastern Province vs Western Province
14h40: Border vs SWD