Springbok Women’s Sevens team support World Rugby’s Leadership Development Scholarships

Mar 8 • General News, Sevens Rugby • 1868 Views • Comments Off on Springbok Women’s Sevens team support World Rugby’s Leadership Development Scholarships

The Springbok Women’s Sevens squad on Thursday endorsed and supported World Rugby’s drive towards gender parity on International Women’s Day, when the world body announced a Leadership Development Scholarships programme set to maximise talented women in rugby and named the first recipients of those scholarships.

Springbok Women’s Sevens captain, Zintle Mpupha, welcomed the programme on behalf of the team and said education is an important issue in their squad as well.

“We are delighted to hear about this programme,” said Mpupha.

“Many of our players are studying towards either diplomas or degrees and it is something we support as a squad. Congratulations to those recipients and we wish them well with their studies.”

Mpupha is one of a number of graduates who are part of the Springbok Women’s Sevens squad – she has a Bachelor degree in Health Sciences from the University of Fort Hare, and specialised in Human Movement Science.

World Rugby’s mission is to drive forward gender-balance in the sport by ensuring women have equal opportunities in all areas, are integrated in strategy, plans and structures and make highly valued contributions to participation, performance, leadership and investment in the global game.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “On International Women’s Day World Rugby joins the global call to action to press for progress on gender parity. The promotion of women in rugby is a top priority for World Rugby following the launch of our landmark 2017-2025 Women’s Plan. We remain committed to accelerating the development of women at all levels of the game, both on and off the field of play.”

• The Springbok Women’s Sevens team are preparing for two tournaments next month. The Hong Kong tournament is the official qualifying tournament for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Women’s Series for next season, while Gold Coast in Australia will host the Commonwealth Games, where the squad will represent Team South Africa in Rugby Sevens.

Springbok Women’s Sevens coach, Paul Delport, meanwhile recalled Shona-Lee Weston, Nomsa Mokwai and Zinhle Ndawonde into the squad to prepare for these two tournaments. All three have played for the team in the past, but are not part of the full-time training squad in Stellenbosch.