Rugby   New strategies to revitalise local rugby |09 February 2022

The Seychelles Rugby Association’s executive committee. From left to right: Johannes Hanekom (treasurer), François van Niekerk (coach), Warren Fairall (executive member), Luke Fonseka (chairman), Leon de Wit (coaching coordinator), Corrie Opperman (vice-c

• Starting at grassroots level for a positive change in the kids’ lives

Following the inclusion of rugby on the list of sports for the 12th Games of the Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l'Océan Indien scheduled between December 4-11, 2022 in Mauritius, the sport’s local governing body has come up with new strategies to attract more youngsters.

Compared to regular rugby, the association – the Seychelles Rugby Association – is promoting touch rugby, a thrilling sport that allows people of all walks of life to take part.

In regular rugby, tackling is part of the sport, part of the job, while in touch rugby, there is no tackling.

You can make contact with an opponent, but tackling is not allowed, and neither are other harmful actions.

This alone makes touch much less painful to play, and is often used as a practice variant of rugby, to prepare new players for the real deal.

Headed by Luke Fonseka, the association held its annual general meeting (AGM) last Saturday where new strategies to further promote the sport as well as the calendar of activities were revealed.

Mr Fonseka noted that the association’s achievement in a very short period of time and in spite of the restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic has been a team effort, including both the committee and some key additional personnel.

He proposed and unanimously received the backing of members to add two additional members to the committee, namely Leon de Wit and Warren Fairall.

Mr de Wit has contributed greatly in terms of coaching and training, while Mr Fairall facilitated partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union, and is still engaged in ongoing efforts to strengthen that relationship.

Other than Mr Fonseka and the two new members, the association is also made up of Corrie Opperman (vice-chairman), Paul de Bruyn (secretary), and Johannes Hanekom (treasurer) who were all elected last year.

Mr Fonseka explained that after noticing that the sport had been dormant locally for quite a while, he teamed up with a group of friends and came up with ideas on how to revive rugby.

Having gathered all the resources, and getting the support of the minister responsible for sports, Marie-Celine Zialor, and the National Sports Council (NSC), Mr Fonseka said all they need to do now is attract players.

He also noted that the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union has been contacted and will be running a coaching course locally where the association hopes to qualify around 20 new coaches to help with development of the sport in the country.

He said following the training, the certified coaches will each receive their own batch of equipment to propagate the sport at district and school level.

Mr Fonseka further added that the Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l'Océan Indien (CJSOI) Games is also the perfect opportunity for young players to represent their country at international level, therefore a strong incentive to grow the sport in the country.

He said the association would like to see the players taking part in the CJSOI Games, representing Seychelles at the Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) next year, while they will embark on a significant outreach programme to get enough players, and the possibility of holding a youth tournament to increase interest and awareness.

Under the guidance of Mr de Wit, six primary schools are now involved in rugby full time every Wednesday, while students from secondary schools gather once a week, also on Wednesdays, for training sessions as part of the preparations for the December CJSOI Games.

He explained that after visiting mostly all the schools to promote the sport, the response has been good, while the hard work remains to work on the awareness as everyone thinks rugby is a physical and brutal sport.

In terms of gender, Mr Fonseka said they have mixed players and it was agreed by the association that a gender and diversity plan would be beneficial and that the association should actively strive to ensure gender balance and equality.

He said the association welcomes all members regardless of age or gender.

Roland Duval