Union to make a future for Mpumalanga women in rugby

A brand-new rugby competition, the Provincial Mpumalanga Girls Rugby 10s, has kicked off and aims to put the skillset of the province’s up-and-coming female players to the test.

According to Sibongiseni Shongwe, development and liaison officer of the Pumas Rugby Union, the main reason for the competition was that there has not been any event in which the players, especially girls 16 to 18, could get exposure to the game.

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“What happened in previous years was that we called the U16s and 18s to one venue for trials, selected a team and then went to nationals,” Shongwe said. He said the girls would, therefore, only play one game before heading into the national weeks.

“We were competitive, but felt if we were to really compete with the best, we needed to create our own tournament that leads up to nationals and that will also assist us in selecting the teams.”

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Because the province does not have as many female rugby players as males, there are not enough to play the traditional 15-player format, so instead the union opted to play the competition with teams consisting of 10 players a side. “We use the 10s as talent identification. It has given us a peek into what we have in the province,” Shongwe added.

The competition has been played in three different regions of the province, making it possible for teams that cannot afford to travel to still participate.

Mbombela’s own girls from Lowveld High have made their mark in the competition with all their teams, U14, 16 and 18, in the top three of their age groups. Lowveld’s U18 centre, Lihle Mbazima, won the player of the tournament following their round 1 fixtures.

The first round of the tournament was played at Steelcrest High School in Middelburg on April 23, the second at Lowveld High on April 27, and the last round is scheduled to take place in Secunda on Saturday May 6.