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The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers will go full tilt this weekend to progress to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final and in the process, uphold a proud tradition of at least one of these two South African powerhouses reaching the decider since the inception of the competition in the 2021/22 season. It’s not going …
Vodacom Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier has been rewarded for this excellent form in the 2025/26 season by being named the South African Vodacom United Rugby Championship Player of the season. Papier’s selection was determined by votes from the Springbok coaching team, the four franchise coaches and selected South African broadcast commentators. Winners from the previous …
Professional sport, especially those involving physical sacrifices such as rugby, can be brutal and at times cruel, but try and tell that to dual Springbok Women’s player Eloise Webb. After more than a decade of playing either fifteens or sevens, the 30-year-old Webb has seen it all and lived it all. A provincial cricketer and …
Former Springbok Women’s players Natasha Hofmeester and Zolisa Noxeke have been appointed as the first coaches of the SA Schools Girls teams, that will take the field for the first time after the FNB U18 Girls Week next month in Gqeberha. Hofmeester and Noxeke’s appointments, as well as those of other junior national teams, were …
He joined the Springbok Sevens set-up straight out of school, so it’s little wonder that the 22-year-old Jayden Nell feels right at home being a newly capped Blitzbok playing in the HSBC SVNS World Championship and winning tournaments while doing so. Nell joined the Blitzboks in 2023, but a rash of injuries curtailed his early …
The Junior Springbok Women will return to action in July when they play their first matches since 2024, against a USA U20 side, with a group of players invited to Stellenbosch for a two-week alignment camp that kicked off their preparations for these historic matches. The two matches in this historic series will be played …
The plan to not play any rugby in their half of the field and give Kenya’s strike runners the opportunity to attack the South African line worked wonders for the Springbok Women on Sunday, while the team’s game management also worked well. That is the view of Springbok Women assistant coach Franzel September after they …
The Junior Springboks capped an impressive unbeaten run with a commanding victory over Georgia at Paul Roos Gymnasium’s Markötter Stadium in Stellenbosch on Saturday, securing a clean sweep in the U20 International Series following earlier victories over Chile and Fiji. The final outing of the series in Stellenbosch provided SA U20 head coach Kevin Foote …
The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers kept the South African flag flying high in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday as they booked their places in the semi-finals with commanding home victories in a gripping quarter-final weekend. Unfortunately, the Fidelity Securedrive Lions’ campaign came to a heartbreaking end against a ruthless Leinster outfit in …
Springbok Women’s Sevens coach Cecil Afrika applauded the effort from his team at the HSBC SVNS Valladolid, where they finished in ninth position after beating Brazil on Sunday, and said he is confident that they will keep improving in France next weekend, when the World Championship concludes in Bordeaux. The Bok Women progressed to the …
Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman was adamant that the Blitzboks were their own worst enemies in the HSBC SVNS Valladolid final, where they were outplayed 26-19 by Australia in a pulsating match. For Snyman, the slow start earlier in the tournament contributed to the result in the final, as the South Africans never played …
Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote has continued with his rotational policy when he named a reshuffled match-day squad for South Africa’s final Under-20 International Series encounter against Georgia in Stellenbosch on Saturday, with regular captain Riley Norton back in the starting team. The match will take place at Paul Roos Gymnasium’s Markötter Stadium, with …
They know that they are physically up for the challenge to deliver the best season in the history of the Springbok Sevens, which is why Blitzbok Philip Snyman believes the key to their approach for the second of three HSBC SVNS World Championship events, this weekend at Estadio Jose Zorrilla in Valladolid, will be mental. …
The Springbok Women’s Sevens had to endure some misfortune like illness and travel delays before the start of the HSBC SVNS World Championship tournament in Valladolid, but for Zintle Mpupha, who will lead the team out at Estadio Jose Zorrilla on Friday morning, there is a real expectation that they can deliver positive results and …
Statement by Geordin Hill-Lewis – Leader of the Democratic Alliance: The Democratic Alliance is deeply concerned by the devastating findings of the AmaBhungane investigation that nearly 28,000 parolees are reportedly untraceable. The DA has long raised alarm about the collapse of effective parole supervision, and these findings confirm what we have warned for years that …
It will be a case of do-or-die for the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls, and Fidelity Securedrive Lions in the quarter-finals of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday as the teams channel all their energy into advancing to the top four to stay in the race for a shot at winning the title. The Vodacom …
South Africa’s Christopher Allison is one of 12 match officials to take the whistle at the Junior World Championship 2026 in Georgia, World Rugby announced on Wednesday, with a month to go until the JWC 2026 kicks off. Fourteen national unions are represented across the 12 referees and four Television Match Officials selected for the …
The Springbok Women had a slow start against Uganda in Nairobi on Wednesday as their defence let them down, but according to Franzel September (assistant coach), the players deserve credit for fighting back in their second match of the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup. A mixed bag in Nairobi resulted in a 47-20 win for South …
At the start of the 2026 season, the Springbok Sevens committed themselves that they will give everything to build a squad and a value system that will conquer all, and that job is not done yet. While recent successes in the HSBC SVNS Series have fuelled that desire and now, with the World Championship title …
Vusi Moyo, who captained the Junior Springboks on Tuesday, hailed his side’s growing maturity and cohesion after their second big victory of the U20 International Series, over Fiji at Wynberg Boys’ High School in Cape Town. The SA U20s led 56-11 at halftime and went on to beat Fiji by 82–25, producing a dominant attacking …
Fair to say success tends to follow Springbok Sevens outside back Gino Cupido, and where top-class rugby has been played on the global stage in 2025 and 2026, he has left a footprint. Looking at tournaments and competitions won, the 20-year-old from Sir Lowry’s Pass Village near Somerset West has already secured some pretty impressive …
Shaunique Alexander and Zethu Gcaza will earn their maiden Test caps when the Springbok Women take on Uganda in the second round of the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup in Kenya on Wednesday, while Abigail Smit is in line to make her international debut off the bench at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi. The trio will …
By Herbert Mensah, President of Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com) and Chair of World Rugby's Regions.
As we celebrate Africa Day under the theme “63 Years of Unity, Integration and Development,” a question emerges: are unity and integration translating into clear outcomes across the world? When investment, capacity, and infrastructure remain uneven, shared systems cannot produce shared growth outcomes.
As President of Rugby Africa, I see this reality up close. And this is not theoretical: sport does not develop by chance. It develops when leadership is disciplined, structures are built properly, and investment is directed where it matters most.
Winning off the field
The reality is simple: winning off the field matters just as much as winning on it. What is seen on match day is only the outcome. Behind it lies governance, planning, funding, player welfare, coaching structures, and long-term strategy. When those foundations are weak, success becomes episodic rather than sustainable.
Over the years, in rugby and in previous roles in football administration, I have seen how pressure can distort decision-making. Fans demand results. Stakeholders expect progress. Everyone wants success now. But consistent success is built on structure, not urgency. In sport, as in business, planning is what prevents chaos. When finances are mismanaged, when development pathways are weak, or when investment in people is neglected, performance eventually suffers. Strong governance produces strong sport, which is where integration becomes critical.
Integration strengthens the game
Too often, talent in Africa is still constrained by geography, language barriers, and outdated selection models. Integration is what removes those barriers. When properly applied, integration creates shared knowledge systems, coordinated development, and stronger competition structures across borders. It allows the game to grow beyond isolated national frameworks into a connected ecosystem. South Africa has shown how rugby can be both excellent and inclusive.
As four-time Rugby World Cup champions, they have not only elevated the sport through success, but also through a model that reflects a more inclusive society. That integration widened the talent base, strengthened credibility, and ultimately made the sport more competitive. The lesson is clear: inclusion is not a social objective separate from performance; it is a performance driver.
Africa must shape its own development
But integration must go further than participation in systems designed elsewhere. It must include participation in decision-making. No two regions operate under the same economic, logistical, or social conditions. Some face infrastructure gaps. Others face travel costs and limited domestic competition. A one-size-fits-all development model cannot work.
Africa understands its own realities best. Yet too often, development frameworks risk becoming compliance exercises — structured more around reporting than impact. That is where the focus must shift: from activity to outcomes.
Africa's youth are the future
This becomes even more urgent when we look at Africa's demographic reality. The United Nations reports that Africa has the world's youngest population, with a median age of around 19 years, compared to approximately 31 globally and over 40 in parts of Europe. This is central to the future of sport. Rugby is competing for attention, participation, and relevance. It cannot stand still.
If investment is directed into youth systems, school programmes, academies, and accessible pathways, Africa will become central to the future growth of the game. If it is not, rugby will miss its most significant opportunity for expansion.
From promises to measurable growth
It is no longer enough to speak about development in abstract terms. Investment must translate into measurable outcomes: stronger coaching systems, better competitions, safer player welfare structures, and visible pathways for young athletes.
On this Africa Day, we should measure progress not by intention, but by impact. Africa will only succeed on the field when it first succeeds off it, through systems that are built to last, and leadership that is accountable to growth.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Rugby Africa.
To Download Official Opinion Piece: https://apo-opa.co/3Rn9pVV
Media Contact:
Nicole Vervelde
Communications Manager
nicole.vervelde@rugbyafrique.com
About Rugby Africa:
Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com) is the governing body of rugby in Africa and one of the regional associations under World Rugby. It unites all African countries that play rugby union, rugby sevens, and women's rugby. Rugby Africa organizes various competitions, including the qualifying tournaments for the Rugby World Cup and the Africa Sevens, a qualifying competition for the Olympic Games. With 40 member unions, Rugby Africa is dedicated to promoting and developing rugby across the continent. World Rugby highlighted Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia as three of the six emerging nations experiencing strong growth in rugby.
Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote has once more made a number of rotational and injury-enforced changes to his match-23 for the second round of the Under-20 International Series against Fiji on Tuesday at Wynberg Boys’ High School in Cape Town. The match kicks off at 15h00 and will be preceded by the encounter between …