It’s another big week for WP Rugby as we host the Emirates Lions at DHL Newlands this Saturday and our DHL WP Rugby u21 side continues their campaign in the SA Rugby u21 championships.
The DHL Stormers will face the Emirates Lions in the Vodacom Super Rugby unlocked competition on Saturday under the guidance of Head Coach John Dobson. John has picked a 47 man squad which includes nine Springboks for the campaign. The format for the competition sees each team play seven matches in a single round with the winner being the team with the most log points when the competition is concluded in Durban on 17 November. Our next home fixture is against the Toyota Cheetahs on 14 November.
The initial plan to have our U21 side stay in Johannesburg for the duration of the SA Rugby tournament has now changed and sees the team fly up just prior to each fixture. Our boys took on the Cell C u21 Sharks this week and although things did not go their way they keep making us proud. Our next fixture will be against the Toyota Cheetahs u21 side on 18th October. All SA Rugby U21 Championship matches will be streamed live on DSTV Now channel 245.
As we know the impact of COVID-19 has been devastating. Recent government protocols have seen some sport codes return to play only with a specifically approved return to play plan. One common element for the sport codes has been the inclusion of compliance officers for sports events and venues. The future of sport will most likely see that coaches and administrators have to complete a COVID awareness course. We strongly recommend all our coaches and administrators complete the world rugby COVID awareness course in preparation for any future rugby activity. World Rugby has been proactive to create an online course free for you. Here is the link for coaches
The FIFA 20 #3teams1city challenge has reached the play-off stage, with qualifiers from the DHL Stormers e-sports challenge up against their counterparts from the Cape Cobras and Cape Town City FC in the semi-finals. DHL Stormer’s qualifier Zuhayr Abrahams will go up against a Cape Town City FC qualifier, while in the Xbox semi-final DHL Stormers qualifier Deevak Dhanjee will face a Cape Cobras qualifier.
Our members are reminded that the first World Rugby Referees Level 1 course is pending with the dates to be announced shortly. Applicants are required to complete the pre-requisite courses on the World Rugby website, these are 1. Rugby Ready, 2. Introduction to Rugby Refereeing, 3.Laws of the Game and 4. COVID19 Return to Play. Once the course is completed a certificate is generated, this certificate needs to be sent to the recruitmentrefs@wprugby.co.za
The World Rugby level 1 coaching course will be held on 6 November at DHL Newlands, the closing date for applications is 30 October. All candidates must be over the age of 18 and by then have registered themselves and completed their online test Including the Rugby Ready, Laws of the game, First Aid in rugby, Concussion General courses as well as the COVID-19 certification course. Here is the link
Please complete this process as soon as possible, as you don’t want to leave this too late. The deadline for the level 2 course is 13 November, with the course being held on 20 November. Also at DHL Newlands. Please email Nazeem Adams to play now on nazeem@wprugby.co.za
This week sees us presenting our Media, Marketing and Sponsorship course to the Northern and Southern League with the focus still on Media and Content. This module looks at the various media platforms at your disposal and the types of content to use on these platforms.
Understanding your audience, and the content they enjoy consuming is vital to increase your member’s base, keep your fans happy and attract sponsors. To help the MMS attendees, we are running a short survey until the end of October. Please complete this survey to help them with their planning for your club.
Our members are reminded of the fantastic benefits with African Bank and to enter the competition to win a signed DHL Stormers Rugby Ball and go in the draw to win a Signed DHL Stormers Jersey. The process is very easy, sign up for any of the African Bank services by sending the word “Hi” to 060 094 2028 on WhatsApp.