The wheels are in motion for another active year of WP Club Rugby and certainly, things are looking good for our senior DHL WP Rugby side.
It’s heartwarming to note that even under these difficult conditions our senior players under the guidance of Coach Johan Dobson are in good spirits. Even though our team had to play on “Boxing Day” with a Captains practice on Christmas Day and then again on “Tweede Nuwe Jaar” when most are enjoying time off and relaxing our boys stepped up to the challenge to make us proud.
The team now goes into the semi-final against the Cell C Sharks at DHL Newlands this weekend and depending on the match between the Vodacom Bulls and the Xerox Lions we could see a home final.
As previously indicated, we would look to the positives of 2020 and build on this for 2021. Already we have begun the process of mapping out the year ahead with a major focus on online interaction and education. Fortunately, last year saw us and our members rapidly adapt to the new dynamics of sport which is now dominated by online engagements and this now sees us in a position to help more of our members.
Following on from last year we will shortly announce the initial dates for some of our coaching courses. These will include the ever-popular WP Rugby 2.5 course which follows on from last year. The first course aimed at school rugby coaches will last six weeks and is scheduled to start in February.
Also starting in February is the World Rugby Level Two Course. Online applications will be published shortly, and anyone interested should begin the process of completing the World Rugby passport including the COVID awareness online course. Please note the course can be completed over phases, you simply need to register, start the course and go back to the platform and pick up from where you left off. Here is the link to start
Due to COVID restrictions and strict return to training and play regulations in South Africa, we will continue to await announcements from government and SA Rugby. All sport in South Africa face the same conditions and are subject to the same regulations which have sadly seen a severe reduction of sports events. As with all other sports, we continue to work towards ensuring that our clubs are COVID ready and it is unlikely that the need for COVID certification at any sports field will not be required for the foreseeable future. To this extent, we urge our members to continue the process of getting COVID certified.
This certification process not only includes the understanding of how facilities are required to operate under COVID regulations and the agreed sports plan but also includes the need for COVID awareness education. We urge all our administrators to undergo the World Rugby COVID awareness certificate by clicking this link and to continue to find ways to educate their members on COVID health and safety protocols.
Players and coaches should understand that living and practising sport during the time of COVID is going to take some adjustment, but these adaptations will strengthen our clubs. We should understand that any practice or match in future will be impacted by these protocols. Even a simple process such as arriving for practice will need to be considered as our coaches and compliance officers will need time to do COVID screening.
We understand that a major impact of not playing your favourite sport, rugby, and not being able to socialise with your rugby friends and colleagues has placed a tremendous burden on our members and their normal passionate club rugby spirit. With this in mind, we urge our coaches and club administrators to constantly communicate with their members using any creative message possible.
Although it might seem a small matter we can assure you that for many players and fans of club rugby these messages of encouragement go a long way towards keeping the spirit of club rugby intact. Something as simple as a birthday wish, or congratulations on a birth or wedding is all it takes to bring a smile to a member’s face, lift their spirits and keep them connected to your club.