Talented Grahamstown rugby player Phumlani Kongwana has left for England to participate in an international rugby exchange programme.
Talented Grahamstown rugby player Phumlani Kongwana has left for England to participate in an international rugby exchange programme.
The programme involves South African Rugby, UK Sport, Sport and Recreation South Africa and the British High Commission.
The period of the exchange, based at Aylesford Bulls Rugby Football Club, in Kent, runs from 17 September to 14 March 2014.
Kongwana, who coached the Nathaniel Nyaluza first rugby side this year, said before embarking on the programme that he was overjoyed and that it would be the experience of a lifetime.
Kongwana was a member of the Nyaluza first rugby side from 2003 up until his matric year in 2007.
He said the exchange came about when Rhodes University rugby coach Qondakele Sompondo watched him play for Easterns during a local league match. It was after the match that the two got together and Qondakele introduced Kongwana to Port Elizabeth-based Bombers rugby side. It was also during this time that Qondakele introduced Kingwana to the exchange programme.
In a letter from Aylesford Bulls Rugby Football Club, where Kongwana will be based, the director of rugby Neil Wiltshire invited Kongwana to play at the club as part of the international exchange programme.
The club will provide Kongwana with accommodation and a subsistence allowance to cover general living expenses and all meals.
The Lions supporter said he plans to play for a local professional side when he returns to South Africa next year.
Kongwana met Mayor Zamuxolo Peter before his departure. “Not only you are going to the programme for personal growth, you are also going as a Grahamstown ambassador and as a South African representative from the Eastern Cape," the Mayor told him, "But you are one of the few to get this opportunity. So grab it with both hands and represent the Makana Municipality very well," Peter said.
