SA Rugby, SARLA take hands in rugby development drive
Photo: KZN Vuka season final between the Inanda Crocodiles and the Lindelani Spears by Howard Cleland / SARLA.
The SA Rugby Legends Association’s (SARLA) ground-breaking rugby development programme, Vuka Rugby, is set to roll out to more rugby unions around South Africa by the end of this year with the support of SA Rugby.
The programme introduces or re-introduces rugby to township schools and is aimed at the U15 and U19 age groups. This year, it is set to move out of its Western Cape base to six new provinces – the Golden Lions, Blue Bulls, Valke, Leopards, Griffons and Eastern Province – with support from the relevant unions in these areas.
Vuka was established in 2007 by Ismail Teladia, Mike Barr and Barry O’Mahoney, in association with SARLA, and now runs in 96 schools in the Western Cape with 4,650 players participating in the programme. In KZN, where it was established last year, 27 schools and more than 200 players are now part of the programme, with the support of the KZNRU’s Development Department.
Preparation for the season begins early in the year when all Vuka schools coaches, match referees and medics participate in pre-season BokSmart accredited courses and IRB Level 1 and 2 coaching courses, facilitated through SA Rugby and the respective provincial unions.
The matches played also feature trainee referees for rugby referees in the Western Cape. Matches are played mid-week with training scheduled during the week.
“The Vuka programme fits in perfectly with the goals set out in our Strategic Transformation Plan, and with its success in the Western Cape region, we felt that the model created by SARLA was one that should be implemented throughout more unions in the country,” said SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux.
“Mervin Green, our General Manager: Strategic Performance Management, has been working closely with SARLA on the further development of the programme. Once all the provinces are up and running, it is projected that over 11,000 players will be participating in Vuka Rugby this year alone.
“It is encouraging that rugby is developing in all areas of South Africa. We have been given a mandate to ensure that rugby’s transformation is stepped up and programmes such as Vuka will go a long way to doing just that.
“What is also encouraging, is that the programme will contribute to transformation of all facets of the game – coaching, administration, refereeing and other important infrastructures. Our STP clearly states that this development is as important as the development of players.”
Former Springbok wing Stefan Terblanche, CEO of SARLA, said one of the mandates by the founders of the organization, was to use our skills and expertise and play a positive role in the transformation of rugby in South Africa.
“Our approach has been to not only develop players but the support and infrastructure around the teams from coaches, through to medics, administrators and referees,” said Terblanche.
Vuka is also an opportunity for talent identification of standout players and, to support this, top players from the schools or regions participating are selected and placed into zonal teams to compete for the Legends Cup in each province.
The programme is taken one step further with its own Legends Iqhawe Week for U15 teams, from all unions around South Africa. The teams have, to date, been selected from the Union’s development programmes. This programme is also supported by SA Rugby.
“Our initial aim was to provide a programme that would help develop or ‘awaken’ rugby in these areas and grow the pool of talent that comes from here,” said Terblanche.
“Over the years the programme has been so well-received by the communities in which we operate, and the positive feedback from schools, families and the community is so encouraging.
“We are grateful and thankful to SA Rugby for their support and the back-up we have also received from the various unions across the country,” he said.
Note: The KZN Vuka Finals feature in SARLA’s latest TV programme, which starts on Wednesday and runs until next week on Supersport.
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