POLOKWANE – From coach to owner, Ignatius Semenya brags with 18 years of coaching experience. He started coaching in 2002 at Moletjie Rugby Club, and today he owns the club.
According to him it is easy for him as a man to coach rugby to women, as women need someone to be their mentor and can help build their future.
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“I started coaching women’s rugby in 2005 and learned that you need to be friends with all the players. Treat them equally and be gentle with them,” Semenya says.
When Ignatius is not next to the field, he enjoys fishing but spends most of his time watching rugby on television. He works for the South African Rugby Union (SARU) at the Youth Training Centre (YTC) as the Limpopo high performance coach for girls between 11 and 20 years.
“Every time I coach, I make sure to improve my players’ rugby skills by staying updated with the latest training routines,” he said.
Ignatius has coached several players who ended up making a name for themselves.
These include Doreen Rakobela who in 2011 was selected as part of the Saru u/20 squad to play at the world cup in US, Sara Ramoraswi from GA-Mothiba, Mpho Moloto from Modimolle and Rights Mkhari from Bungeni.
In 2012 he was the assistant coach for Limpopo’s senior Currie Cup team. Here he coached Lisbon Motlatla who played for the Lions and went to Japan for a tour, just to mention a few of his career highlights.
“In the coming years I want to see myself coaching the national women’s team and help them with my experience in the game,” he adds.
Ignatius enjoys the challenge of coaching as it keeps his mind busy and keeps him focused in life.
“Know the kind of people you are coaching, what are their challenges, do they have rugby boots? Can they even afford it? As the coach you need to accommodate that and assist wherever you can. You are like a second parent to all of them, so you need to sacrifice yourself to them. You’d rather suffer to see your players be happy,” is his advice to up-and-coming coaches.
