The City of Johannesburg’s Sport and Recreation, in partnership with the Hollywood Foundation, Cell C SA Rugby Legends and the South African Rugby Union joined in on the eighth edition of the Iqhawe U/15 tournament. The week-long Iqhawe National Rugby U/15 seven-a-side Rugby Tournament began on 3 October, with the finals held on 6 October 2022 at Johannesburg Stadium in the neighbourhood of Doornfontein.
Teams from Boland, Lions, Blue Bulls and many others were part of the competition, which is South Africa’s top development rugby tournament. This year, 14 boys and five girls teams lit up the field and were determined to succeed.
The first Iqhawe Week, organised by the Cell C SA Rugby Legends and the South African Rugby Union, took place in Cape Town in September 2013.
The goal was to establish a pathway for players from new, introductory, small, rural, lower-league, and non-traditional rugby schools to compete in a competition on par with the National Craven Week and Grant Khomo Weeks. Many of the players that competed in the Varsity Cup went on to play provincial rugby and earn degrees while participating.
Over 1 200 youngsters have participated in the tournament since 2013.
“Throughout the tournament, boys and girls from various rugby unions tackled each other, and each of them demonstrated commitment to their teams by expending as much energy as possible, as well as the discipline, fight, and hard work that comes with the game,” said former South African rugby union player, Dale Santon of the South African Rugby Legends Association.
The morning of the finals was scorching hot, but this did not discourage delighted athletes from exhibiting their abilities as Boland (boys U/15) and Tshwane (girls U/15) earned first place and returned home as the 2022 Iqhawe U/15 Tournament champions.
“The Cell C SA Rugby Legends are thrilled to have the Hollywood Foundation Iqhawe Week back. It is SA’s premier u15 rugby tournament, giving the countries untapped talent an opportunity to shine. To make it even more special, for the first time, we are incorporating a girl’s tournament to run alongside the boy’s tournament,” said Cell C SA Rugby Legends CEO John Smit.
“We are extremely grateful to the Hollywood Foundation, National Department of Sport and Recreation, City of Johannesburg, Gauteng Government, SA Rugby and the Lions Rugby Union for all their support,” he said.
Written by Ntombifuthi Junerose Nkosi
7/10/2022