HOLIDAY RUGBY FOR U10s,12s & U14s at Ravens Country Club.

Tag rugby was introduced to U10 & U12 children (boys and girls) of Zambia compound in Nkana East & Ndeke area by our volunteer coach Chiti Kasonka.

Twelve under 14 kids were introduced to basic contact rugby skills by our volunteer coach and IRB Educator Enock Shikabeta and i introduced them to basic principals of match officiating.A lot of interest was generated by the boys some would want to be referees one day.

Tag Rugby will soon be introduced in Solwezi basic and private schools and will create a base for rugby development in the North Western Province

CLUB DEVELOPMENT MATCHES at DIGGERS RFC

Nkana West U13A took on Nkana West U13B as a curtain-raiser match before the inter-club development game between Diggers B vs Kansanshi RFC from Solwezi Town, watched by Lusaka Powerhouse players on their way to Chibuluma RFC.

The match was officiated by two U16s Brian Mbalwa & Terven Chapema each taking one half, helping to develop young referees in the are.

DIGGERS B vs KANSANSHI RFC

As Copperbelt covers the Mkushi farming block & North Western province, Kansanshi RFC – sponsored by Kansanshi Mines PLC – participates in youth rugby tournaments organised in the Copperbelt region.

The team is being coached by Humphrey Chisulo (ex.Diggers U18s & National 15s coach ) who is now working for Kansanshi Mines plc.

A match was arranged as a warm up for the Annual Kansanshi Mines Invitational Tournament to be held on 4th September in Solwezi. This is purely a Youth tournament and 1st XV players are not able to participate but are encouraged to watch and mentor upcoming players.

A special thanks must go to Ravens Country club management Chiti, Enock, & Kansanshi Mines for coming on board.

Through guidance and material from the Tag Rugby Trust in the UK, the Kampala team conducted a youth program whose course format comprised of theory, practical and individual involvement. In attendance were 28 youngsters, some of whom were among the first children to take part in the Tag Rugby programme in 2003 and have competitively played in the Kampala grand tournament for their schools. Most of them were attending the young leadership course for the first time for which participation was excellent with 13 girls and 15 boys.

At an individual level the students did interact with trainers on what they needed from a leadership course for which many revealed that being leaders would enable them to give back to tag rugby as well as shaping their own future.

The half day fruitful session had an impact on various areas which included effectiveness in communication, presentation with clarity, tag rugby coaching, use of appropriate networks to develop an initiative, safe delivery of enjoyable tag coaching activities, organisation of community delivery, design and adherence to a leaders code of conduct and many others. The participants also shared their expectations and views on the difference between tag rugby and other sports.

Amongst the day’s participants were tag rugby graduates and those that travelled to the UK for the Tour Aid mini competitions in Twickenham, as well as playing for top junior and top clubs at home. Many of the participants said they would like to become Coaches, Referees and Administrators, and here are some of the young leaders views about the program;

Philip Wokorach
l am aged 17 and at the moment in High school. l first played tag rugby in 2004 at Mbuya barracks primary school, which groomed me in preparation for the Twickenham games in UK where Uganda performed averagely. I also locally play for KK stallion at Kyadondo, a team that has always won its game and emerged victors of the 2009 shield league. The Young Leaders program was just an answer to my dreams of passing on skills to the younger kids through coaching and officiating as well as volunteering.

I have always asked myself how to give back to a sport that groomed me, great leadership just fits the answer. I am a fly half for my club and have scored most tries for my team in total because of my undying tag rugby basics that most of my team mates who have not passed through the tag gutter don’t have.

I admire Kizza Benon on the Uganda team because l have always looked up to him for inspiration being among the first to play tag rugby in the country yet the youngest and most valuable national team player on the Uganda team. Kenya’s fly half Levin Asegu and New Zealand full back make me feel l
still have a long way to go with their excellent play.

Lastly l have always asked our tag officials who Gilbert is, whoever you are,you are a very generous person because everything we have used and still use in tag rugby as well as senior rugby comes from you. I hope one day l can shake your hand to say thanks for dressing Rugby in my country.

Linus Nuwagaba
I am 17 years old and began playing rugby in 2004 in St.Jude primary school. The young leaders program was well-delivered leaving the ball into our hands because it has set the ball rolling and brought forth an idea on how to put the skills we have together with what we learnt into practice.

I plan to give back to tag rugby through leadership and volunteering.A few years back in my primary school we were told how tag rugby would take us places for which many of us did not accept, but when l got selected to go for the Twickenham games in 2008 it was based on the best of the best from a team that had just graduated to mini rugby. I made the team and from then on l have never looked back.

My role model is the man who introduced tag rugby in Uganda Mr.Martin Hansford, each time l look at him
l always say there is nothing impossible. Playing with other kids and the foreign volunteers who save time to come and share with us has always made me admire volunteering. England is the team l support being the birth place of the game that made me learn of rugby as a sport.

Regina Athieno
I am 18 years and play for Panthers at Kampala Rugby club. The leadership program alongside tag rugby has served as an eye opener to many of my friends who did not know they are born leaders especially as females. I am the Sports minister in my school and it is hard to deliver without a plan and it has been hard to involve many girls in my school in many sports, especially rugby, but with the tips l got today watch this space!

The Leadership course has equipped me with more than l thought l wanted which l plan to implement in my Leadership roles even at national level since l am the captain for the U-19 Girls national team.

Thanks goes to the Tag Rugby Trust that has made the game of rugby easy in age groups through tag rugby basics and workshops like this one.

The Tag Rugby team in Kampala was pleased with the turn out and owe our thanks to Trevor, Martin, Rob and the rest who came up with the ideas and necessary manual and equipment for the program

Flowers, flowers, flowers.

The Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off today, with Tag Rugby Trust Ambassador Catherine Spencer captaining the England side in their bid for glory.

Spence had an incredible experience on Tour with the Trust in 2009 and is very much looking forward to returning to Uganda in 2011, and was thrilled to have been asked to be an Ambassador of TRT.

She is passionate about youth and women’s rugby, and she is determined to do her country proud in the World Cup. England will be trying to lift New Zealand’s stranglehold on the event to claim their first ever title when the competition culminates on Sunday September 5th at The Stoop in Twickenham.

We’ll be cheering her all the way, and if you can get down to support the team, then all the better.

This weekend, Oundle are taking on Uppingham in an Old Boys Twenty20 Cricket Match at the Bank of England cricket ground in Roehampton.

It is on a Sunday, which makes it a perfect family day out, so get down there if you can with the whole family, and meet up with some old school friends. There is a full BBQ and Bar down at the club so no need to worry about eating before hand.

Here are the full details:

Venue: Bank of England Sports Ground, Roehampton, London (Directions)
Date: Sunday 22nd April (1PM start – Gates open at noon)
Closest Station: Barnes Railway station (accessible from Clapham Junction – 10 mins)

Tickets are only £10, and a proportion of the proceeds will go towards the Tag Rugby Trust, so you’ll be helping the charity as well as having a great day out!

Another batch of kit has landed in Zambia, courtesy of Gilbert and the Tag Rugby Trust.

The Trust’s local volunteers and workers are using the clothing and equipment to continue to generate interest and participation in the sport.

Various recycled team kits from different sports, as well as new Gilbert equipment, has been used as prizes for Tag Rugby tournaments that are organised in towns such as Kitwe, Luanshya, Solwezi and Chibusa.

They also act as an incentive for local teachers to drive the Tag Rugby programme in their schools and villages, helping to spread the good word of rugby and involve more and more children in the activities.

We are always on the lookout for donations, so if you can think of anything you can offer, please do get in touch.

Ten schools participated which included the hosts Laroo boarding primary school, Lapainat primary school, St martin primary school Lukome, Atede primary school, Ajulu primary school, Koro Abili primary school, Awach primary school, Palaro primary school, Odek primary school, Paicho primary school.

‘’These kids were affected by the war in one way or another but tag rugby has restored their hope’’ said teacher Tookema Tito Odong from Laroo boarding primary school.

We had a total of 120 kids participating in the tournament with each school team having six girls and six boys with great talent and skills of tag rugby, the running, and passing were brilliant and we believe they will be great future rugby players for the Gulu Elephants rugby team and Uganda Rugby Cranes as well.

We had an afternoon tournament since the schools are scattered in the area and took time getting to the venue. We had great display of the game from the different schools in the bowl final we had St Martin primary school winning three tries to two after defeating Palaro primary school in a tight game.

There was tight competition in the plate final where Awach primary school lost to Odek primary school three tries to four in very exciting match.

The main cup final was exciting though one sided where Laroo boarding primary school the hosts who were un beaten in the festival exhibited great pace, running and passing skills more than their opponents from Paicho primary school hence winning five tries to one in  fun filled game.

We also had a curtain raiser between the teachers and the coaches where the teachers emerged winners.

Gulu is fun with friendly people it can be compared to Mbale town, the streets, food and the elephants as well (their rugby team).

It was a fun filled tag rugby tournament where every kid and teacher enjoyed themselves, plus the support and the skills they showed one could hardly believe they are playing the game for the first time.

Regards from the TRT (Uganda) team

Today was always going to be a hard day – cutting on average 150 children to 30 from each school. For many of us, this was an emotional experience and one which we found incredibly hard. Those that were chosen were absolutely thrilled by the opportunity, and the remaining performed a song and dance to wish them luck. By the end of the training session, the teams were performing at a high standard and we anticipate a keenly fought-out tournament tomorrow.

The evening was spent sorting out kit for the schools and final preparation. Adam had a torrid time sorting out the fixtures, but got there in the end. We hope we have got everything ready and are currently in the dark having experienced our first power cut!

Adam and Pete

With yet again another fantastic breakfast, we headed to our various schools to continue training the children. Group 2 were again first dropped off at Musamba basic school, where they were greeted by hoards of excited children awaiting their coaches. With the basics of the Tag rugby fully grasped, it was time to introduce the notorious complexity of the offside rule. Over at Chilanga, group 1 were getting stuck into simple, progressive games to refocus the kids to progress further in Tag Rugby.

The morning session saw each group coach two sets of children, both showing equal levels of enthusiasm towards Tag Rugby. It was obvious to see the kids ability and understanding has improved dramatically since the start of the week. After a well-earned lunch break, both groups embarked on their final training sessions to conclude the day.

That evening, we dared to cross the busy road to Eureka Camp Site for a safari walk. It was fantastic to walk amongst Giraffes, Zebras and buffalo, as well as many other exotic animals (Nick/John).

Michael, Lori and Haydn

After being treated to another fantastic breakfast, we headed out to our schools. Group 2 dropped off at Musamba where we were greeted by familiar big grins as the kids came out eager to continue playing. Group 1 unloaded at Chilanga with an excited crowd of 150+ kids waiting the morning ahead.

After the first day of training with the basics now out of the way, Group 2 could now focus on helping the kids to adapt their skills in a Tag Rugby match against each other whilst abiding to the official tag rugby ‘rule-book’. Meanwhile over at Chilanga Group 1 held two sessions, helping to develop the children’s understanding of tag rugby.

After the morning sessions, both groups met at Guardian Angels a school for orphans. There are over 300 children at the school and not only is the school a very special place, it is also a moving experience to visit . Both teams then split and set off for their afternoon locations. Group 2 were joined by Guardian angels where we were expecting just year 5s and instead acquired years 2-6. With a hard yet fulfilling days training done and both groups more than happy with the progress made by the children we headed back to Baobab college.

Michael and Jasmine

After devouring another great morning meal from the Baobab chefs we departed for our first meeting with the Grade 5 participants. First stop was Musamba Basic, where Group 2 began their initial morning of coaching, closely followed by a stop at Chilanga Basic, Group 1’s first port of call.

While Group 2 split their training session into two parts, Group 1 were given the task of teaching the entirety of the Grade 5 pupils at Chilanga, roughly 140! However, both sessions went tremendously well with all the children exceeding our expectations. In the afternoon, Group 1 travelled to Mt. Mukulu Basic and Group 2 began to train Guardian Angels – an AIDS orphanage for those whose parents are or were in the adjoining Hospice. There were yet more antics for groups, especially no. 2, who expecting Grade 5 were met with Grades 4, 5 and 6 to work with for the afternoon.

After a long, hot and dusty day of training both groups headed back to Baobab to cool down in the pool, where Pete repeatedly and ungracefully lost to John in a 25m swim. For dinner we had our first taste of the Zambian staple diet, nshima, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and finally to end the day we were subjected to John and Pete’s ridiculous ‘quiz’ which may have only been enjoyed by the council elders themselves. Courtesy of Haydn Lori and Nick. Goodnight!