SARU Youth Training Centre

In a bid to increase participation in women’s and girls’ rugby, the South African Rugby Union have launched the Saru Youth Training Centre at the NMMU Missionvale campus to encourage further development in this aspect of the game.

The national body is on a drive to bolster women’s rugby in the country to try to improve the competitiveness of the national side in future competitions.

Saying the programme marked a significant effort to grow the women’s game, Saru chief executive Jurie Roux said: “We have increased our investment in the women’s rugby significantly in the last two seasons by contracting Springbok women’s sevens players for the first time in our history and the youth training centre will help us in developing an enlarged base from which to select sevens rugby players and 15-a-side code in the future.”

The objective of the programme is to grow the base of women’s players in the country and to groom the players from a young age for the demands of rugby through training sessions, conditioning and nutritional programme to prepare them for competitive matches.

The new strategy has been devised for girls between ages 14 and 18, who will be introduced to the fundamental skills of rugby when they join the game and expose them to coaching relevant to their level of development.

The Youth Training Centre will also encourage and support the capacity building programmes for the volunteers in coaching, officiating, and sport administration.

The Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU) has partnered with NMMU to utilise NMMU Missionvale Campus as the base for the Youth Training Centre and home for EP Women’s Rugby. This is the first Youth Centre out of six to be launched in the country.

The programmes includes TAG Rugby played by girls from Grade 3 and full rugby games played by under 16s, under 18s and the senior teams.