Local rugga players excel at Touch Rugby World Cup

SIX North Durban residents, Ettiene Botha (Durban North), Kerry Warne (Durban North), Nic Williamson (Mount Edgecombe), Hannah Maujean (Durban North), Daniel Duarte (Durban North) and Michaela Geytenbeek (La Lucia) recently returned from the Senior Touch World Cup which took place in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

The world cup saw 28 countries from around the world participating with the South African over 30 men’s side the only national side to bring home a silver medal.

Williamson, who is the KZN Touch Rugby chairperson, was part of the over 30 men’s team to taste success.

“It was a big plus seeing so many KZN representatives at the world cup. Obviously I would love to see more athletes get involved but the world cup as a whole was an awesome experience for us all. Being part of the team to win a silver medal was really special and gives me and the team motivation to try and win gold at the next world cup,” he said.

His comments were echoed by Botha who represented the mixed 30s SA team.

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“This was my first world cup and it was a super experience. The biggest thing for me was seeing the difference in tempo and physicality at the world cup. You play league games and inter-provincials but nothing prepares you for how tough and competitive the world cup games are, the levels just kept getting higher,” he said.

Both Warne and Maujean represented the SA ladies open team and while they didn’t win a medal, the duo said the tournament gave them hope South Africa’s chances would improve.

“For me personally this world cup was better than the last in terms of how I performed. I will say it was definitely tougher though,” Warne said.

“I have to agree with Kerry, this is my third world cup and the competition has gotten much better. A team like Japan has made huge strides in the sport and then of course, Australia and New Zealand are in a league of their own. The competition did give us hope that we can improve and come back stronger for the next world cup,” Maujean said.

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Geytenbeek who played for the mixed open team was also playing in her first ever touch rugby world cup.

“I never dreamed I’d be representing my country at a world cup. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a fan of Bob Skinstad and I wanted to be just like him which led me to playing touch rugby. Our side didn’t have the greatest of world cups, we are all still very young and we only two players with international caps so the whole point was to gain experience for upcoming world cups,” she said.

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