Johannesburg – South African women’s rugby is on the rise, that is a certainty but it still has a long and winding road full of obstacles and trepidation to traverse, before it can become a true force on the world stage.
The Springbok women begin their Cup campaign this weekend against France, and although they are not expected to progress further than their group – which also sports England and Fiji – it will be a gauge to see how far they have progressed.
SA Rugby over the past year or so – after a four-year hiatus pre-Covid – have made important moves to uplift the women’s game, installing former Ireland international Lynne Cantwell to the post of high-performance manager; securing major sponsorships for the nations team – most recently FNB; organising more Tests and tours; and also approaching the various unions to set up provincial teams of their own.
One such endeavour is at the GLRU, where the Mastercard Golden Lions Women’s team, under the tutelage of head coach Timothy Goodwin, are working in tandem with SA Rugby in building a sound foundation from which the Springboks can work.
It is not easy work. Right now, as explained by Goodwin, developing grassroots level and installing the systems and structures there, are arguably the main priority, particularly at the Johannesburg-based union.
“We have got 20 primary schools on a program dedicated to rugby so as to expose the girls to the game,” Goodwin said last week while speaking to Independent Media. “It is a wonderful program where the girls play Sevens.
“Then we have a high schools’ program – 18 of them – playing rugby within our union; and then we have about 12 clubs. Those are our stepping stones to get us to the next level in provincial rugby. It is where we need to make a difference to make sure we widen the player base (provincially and internationally).”
Those clubs include Pirates, the Wanderers Club, the University of Johannesburg, Wits Universit, Soweto Eagles in the Jabulani area, Zondi Women’s Rugby around Dobsonville, Ditau Diarora Women’s Rugby in Meadowlands, a team in the far West Rand in Kagiso, a club in Carletonville, and a team in Alexandra.
Although SA Rugby and the domestic unions have shifted their focus to constructing competitive women’s teams, Goodwill also admits that they will need a lot more backing to make it a success.
Said Goodwin: “What is required is a lot of support.
“We need to be almost equal to where the men’s game is currently in terms of resources. That is probably the biggest downside at the moment.
“We are more or less on track in terms of what we need to get to the next level,” he added, “and now we have to ensure that they have the same access to medical services; the same access to physical conditioning; and the same accessing terms of getting high-performances coaches, people who understand the game.”
The revolution in the women’s game in SA might be sooner rather than later. In August, SA Rugby revealed plans for two teams from the country to participate in a United Rugby Women’s Championship (URC).
“The URC are expecting their participating teams to come up with women’s teams to participate in that wonderful competition,” Goodwin said, while tempering expectations.
“We were in discussions (last week) with SA Rugby on where the women’s game is going to go. Hopefully, something positive will come from that. It will take a lot of effort to get to that level if you consider where we are as a country in terms of women’s rugby.”
As for women’s rugby in Joburg this weekend, Pirates women will host the Women’s club championship match on Saturday afternoon, at Pirates Club in Greenside, against Ditau.
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