Two Grahamstown pupils: Ntsikelelo Mlamleli of St Andrew’s College and Lihleli Xoli of Kigswood College were part of the Eastern Province team at the U16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week.
Two Grahamstown pupils: Ntsikelelo Mlamleli of St Andrew’s College and Lihleli Xoli of Kigswood College were part of the Eastern Province team at the U16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week.
The team won their first match against Blue Bulls by 6-0, but went on to lose their second match 5-55 against Free State.The U16 tournament kicked off at Oakdale High School in Riversdale on Monday, with the final matches being played yesterday.
Eighteen teams participated in the week with each of the fourteen South African Rugby Union (SARU) provinces represented by one team with the exception of the Blue Bulls, Border and SWD unions, who each sent two sides to the competition. An U16 team from Namibia also took part.
“The youth weeks are a time to get together and strengthen our playing talent at this crucial age group. This is where the foundation of SA rugby lies,” said SARU CEO Johan Prinsloo at the opening.The national selectors will indentify 50 U16 players to form part of the SA National U16 High Performance Squad, which will attend a high performance training camp in Cape Town in September.
“Those players who have made it to the various selected U16 and U18 squads will ultimately form part of SA rugby’s high performance programme and will receive the necessary assistance through their junior rugby careers,” said SA Rugby High Performance Manager, Herman Masimla.
