By Luvuyo Mjekula
The dreams of four young Ndlambe rugby-playing schoolgirls of representing their province at a high level rugby competition were dealt a big blow last week as alleged manipulation of the team list, left them high and dry.
Chenique Brown, Emily Gunn, Chelsea Kouberg and Danica Meyers are young girls of about 16 years from the Ndlambe area, in Alexandria and surrounds.
They love their rugby and were extremely excited to represent the Eastern Cape at the SA Rugby U16 and U18 Girls Youth Week at Jeppe High School in Johannesburg from 1-4 July.
The U18 fixtures were staged on Monday and Wednesday, while the U16 games were played on Tuesday and Thursday.
Things went according to plan as the children and their parents enthusiastically prepared for one of the biggest achievements in their young rugby careers. They even went out to seek sponsorships for their travels and the children travelled to Gqeberha on occasions to take part in training camps.
However, on the eve of the highly publicized national event, at a beach in Gqeberha, the girls were sent packing, in the presence of their parents, who had been called for an urgent meeting.
With their bags packed, participation fees and travelling costs paid for, and donning their EP Rugby branded jacket and tracksuit, the four Ndlambe girls, and 15 others from other parts of the Eastern Cape, were told they were not travelling to Johannesburg and should return home, to much heartbreak and disappointment.
Not much came forth in the form of an explanation, the parents have told Grocott’s Mail.
In a strongly-worded letter to officials of Eastern Cape Rugby, the girls’ parents are demanding an explanation. The correspondence had to be redirected to SA Rugby as they could not reach anyone at EP Rugby.
In the letter, the parents state that the SA Rugby U16 and U18 Girls Week tournaments “are paramount to give these age-group girls the opportunity to compete at a national level”.
The U18 fixtures were staged on Monday and Wednesday, while the U16 games were played on Tuesday and Thursday.
“We are deeply hurt with this state of affairs involving our children. Not only is the non-attendance of the tournament very painful and traumatic to our children, but the timing and the manner in which this denigration of our children took place leads us to write to you.
“We hereby state our disgust and deep disappointment with the behaviour of adults and “systems” that see our children’s dreams shattered.”
The parents have written that Sunshine Coast Spar donated food for the children’s training camp and snack packs for the girls in proud anticipation of their success in EP colours. Two private entities donated money for the girls in respect of the participation fees and the community at large supported the girls.
The parents seek a “clear and coherent explanation” as to why their children were denied participation, “how this disgrace will be prevented from happening to other children and a clear way forward for their children”.
The parents say they received letters that informed them that after attending trials, their children had been selected for Eastern Province teams that would travel to Gauteng for the National Youth Week. This was on an EP letterhead dated 26 April 2024 and signed by Valerie Witbooi, chairperson of Eastern Province High Schools Association. Alexandria High School, where three of them are learners, was also informed.
The parents went on to say the planning, information flow and general communication between them and EP was excellent. They were given a training schedule with dates and times for all activities, including the capping ceremony and the departure dates for the teams.
They paid the required R2 700 for each child and made means to attend all the training sessions as required, they said.
The parents said early signs of serious trouble started showing at the capping ceremony. “There was confusion and some parents withdrew their children from the team. We felt that we will not withdraw our children as we were under the impression that all was done above board and we saw no reason to withdraw our children. Not on the eve of departing on a tour.”
The fact that they were not informed about a meeting of parents and stakeholders before the capping ceremony also raised questions. “The capping ceremony did not take place as there was a contestation between officials and we did not understand why adults would change a capping ceremony into a meeting and platform for conflict.
“No agreement could be reached and we could not get satisfactory answers/explanations from the leadership present. We returned home with our children. We had no clarity on the way forward at the time. We were told that our children would still go to the tournament. Our children were issued with their EP kit.”
“On or about Friday, 28 June, we received a voice note informing us that our children would not travel to Gauteng as they were deleted from the “footprint”. A day prior to departure!”
Grocott’s Mail reached out to Witbooi. She blamed the blunder on EP Rugby’s officials.
Witbooi said certain officials manipulated the team lists, replacing the 19 girls with others without any explanation. She attributed this to “boardroom politics” at EP Rugby.
Witbooi said she tried everything to get the children to take part in the tournament but her wings were clipped.
She said she and her team had used the girls’ fees of R2 700 to pay for their EP gear, which they took home when they were unceremoniously sent home. “No money went into our pockets.” She said they even had a braai for the children.
Witbooi said in her battle to keep the girls’ dreams alive, she was threatened with arrest for allegedly holding EP Rugby workers hostage.
She said boardroom politics, and racism, led to the disaster. “It was a whole schlep,” said Witbooi. She vowed to carry on the fight. “The fight is not over, we are going to fight for our girls.”
Attempts to get comment from EP Rugby were unsuccessful while a senior SA Rugby official in Cape Town refused to be drawn into discussing the matter, simply redirecting questions to EP Rugby.
The official said EP Rugby, like any other union, ran its own affairs and played by its own rules. “They pick their teams, we don’t get involved.”
The incident left the four girls devastated. One said she even thought about quitting playing the sport at provincial level.
