To celebrate 56 years since Wongalethu High School was opened, there will be a rugby festival at Sisa Dukashe Stadium next Thursday.
The second annual Wongalethu rugby festival is to commemorate the school’s great milestone and the memories forged since its inception.
Established last year and organised by Daily Dispatch local hero Athabile Ngoloyi, the tournament honours local talent while highlighting rugby as a sport.
More than 10 schools from the township of sport fanatics, Mdantsane, will take part.
Ngoloyi said the vision behind the festival was to minimise drug abuse, keep boys off the streets and introduce girls to the sport.
Several boys received recognition after excelling at the first festival, earning call-ups for the Border Academy team and Under-15 side.
While some received scholarships, others joined well-known rugby teams across the country.
Wongalethu and Hlokoma from Mdantsane will go against each other.
Berlin High School is set to battle Siniwe, Sikhulule and Nyameko, Sakhisizwe girls will face Ngwenyathi girls, Khwenxurha will be going against Sakhisizwe and Ngwenyathi face Qaqamba on the first day.
The festival will be aired on SuperSport.
“School rugby is dying in townships and villages, hence we felt we had to bring the festival back,” Ngoloyi said.
“We had a great reception last year. Some players were picked for Border junior teams and others got to play for some of the best schools in the country.”
With women’s rugby constantly changing in the Border region and with the University of Fort of Hare women’s rugby team participating in the inaugural Varsity Women’s Cup, where they lost to Maties in the semifinal, Ngoloyi said they had invited the coaching personnel from that institution to look for young girls with potential for next year’s varsity competition.
“The Border women’s team has enjoyed success in the past decade and with Fort Hare now in the varsity competition, that widens the pool of women players.
“We have increased the number of women teams in the festival so that more girls get exposed to the sport,” he said.
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