In a groundbreaking development for women’s rugby in the country, former Springbok Women and Border’s Zolisa Noxeke has been appointed as one of the first coaches of the SA Schools Girls teams.
Noxeke, from Mdantsane and who has been mentoring Border in the junior women’s rugby structures in previous years, will be the head coach of the SA Schools Girls A team that will take the field for the first time after the U18 Girls Week in Gqeberha next month.
Opposition are yet to be announced by SA Rugby.
Zumpie, as she is affectionately known, will be assisted by Nosipho Poswa from the Western Cape.
She was part of a group of 24 elite coaches who recently took part in SA Rugby’s new Women Coaches’ Transitioning Workshop, a critical initiative designed to bridge the gender gap in elite coaching.
Ex-national women’s player Natasha Hofmeester will be assisted by Catherine Lowane with the top-tier SA Schools Girls team.
It’s especially exciting to see four women’s coaches in Natasha, Zolisa, Catherine and Nosipho take control of our SA Schools Girls teams, as the deliberate growth and education of our female coaches is a core pillar of our ‘Destination 2027’ strategy
— Rian Oberholzer, SA Rugby CEO
SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said the appointments of Noxeke, Poswa, Lowane and Hofmeester were part of their “Destination 2027″ strategy. Former SA Schools boys’ coaches Katleho Lynch and Sean Erasmus will be their mentors.
“It’s great to see so many former national and provincial players involved in coaching at junior level, and we firmly believe they will do a great job of imparting knowledge to your age-group players,” Obzeholzer
“It’s especially exciting to see four women’s coaches in Natasha, Zolisa, Catherine and Nosipho take control of our SA Schools Girls teams, as the deliberate growth and education of our female coaches is a core pillar of our ‘Destination 2027’ strategy.
“We’ve also brought in Katleho and Sean to assist the management teams for the SA Schools Girls sides with things like planning and strategies and to act as sounding boards to the coaches when needed,” he said.
Noxeke was also part of the Springbok Women’s team that made SA’s first appearance at a Women’s World Cup in 2006. Her coaching CV is impressive and includes working with SA Rugby’s Elite Player Development programme, a national talent identification and pipeline pathway for youth rugby, Border YTC programmes and the SA U20 women’s team.
Former Border Boys Craven Week advisor Lwazi Zangqa has again been entrusted as the head coach of the SA Boys’ Schools team. He will be assisted by Heinrich Martin.
The SA Schools and U18A sides will again be coached by Flash Malinga, with assistance from Cobus van Dyk. - Additional reporting by SA Rugby.
Daily Dispatch
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