The top Under-20 women’s rugby players in South Africa are set to gather in Johannesburg starting Saturday for their second annual provincial tournament. This year, 12 unions will be sending their teams to compete in the event, after which a Junior Springbok Women’s team will be chosen to participate in the first-ever U20 Women’s Africa Series in Stellenbosch.
The Junior Springbok Women will compete against teams from Tunisia, Uganda, and the Rhino Rugby U20 team in three matches during the international series, which will be held at the Markötter Stadium in Paul Roos Gymnasium.
The provincial tournament, hosted at Queens High School, aims to create a clear pathway for the country’s top female players to transition from junior to senior levels. Lynne Cantwell, the High-Performance Manager for Women’s Rugby at SA Rugby, emphasized the importance of this competition in nurturing talent.
“We’ve been working on creating this pathway for a long time to help our girls move up from junior to senior levels,” Cantwell stated. “It’s fantastic that we can once again hold the U20 week followed by international competition.”
Cantwell pointed out that the program has already been successful, citing players like Mary Zulu, Byrhandré Dolf, Vainah Ubisi, and Shiniqwa Lamprecht, who have transitioned from the U20 ranks to the senior international level. She expressed hope that more talented players will emerge in the upcoming weeks.
The senior national coaches will closely monitor these competitions, as they provide an opportunity for young players to potentially secure spots for the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England and for the Springbok Women’s Sevens team, which is currently in a rebuilding phase. “We are grateful to partner with Rhino Rugby to fund the additional fixtures, allowing us to have a four-team competition, similar to the U18 International Series for boys,” Cantwell added.
Cantwell acknowledged the abundant talent across the country and stressed the importance of giving these young players the chance to bridge the gap from Under-18 to senior level. This is why the U20 provincial competition is scheduled during school holidays.
“We currently have only 12 provincial teams, but we hope to expand this in the future,” she said. “The competition coincides with WXV 2, as we aim to create a connection and platform from the juniors to the senior level. All provincial teams will attend the second round of WXV, where the Springbok Women will face Australia. We also plan to have our national senior team support the Under-20s.”
The coaching staff for the Junior Springbok Women’s team includes Flash Malinga, Eddie Myners, Mandisa Williams, and Zenay Jordaan.
The U20 Women’s tournament kicks off at 9:00 AM on Saturday at Queens High School. All games are scheduled to finish before the Carling Currie Cup final, where the players will attend the clash between the Fidelity ADT Lions and the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV at Emirates Airline Park, starting at 4:00 PM.
### U20 Provincial Competition – First Round Fixtures (21 September):
– 09:00: Western Province vs Valke (A-field)
– 09:00: Lions vs Boland (B-field)
– 10:30: Bulls vs Free State (A-field)
– 10:30: Limpopo vs Sharks (B-field)
– 12:00: Eastern Province vs Griquas (A-field)
– 12:00: Border vs SWD (B-field)
### U20 Women’s Africa Series Fixtures (All Matches at Markötter Stadium, Stellenbosch):
**Monday, 30 September 2024**
– 10:00: Rhino Rugby vs Tunisia
– 12:00: Junior Springbok Women vs Uganda
**Friday, 4 October 2024**
– 10:00: Rhino Rugby vs Uganda
– 12:00: Junior Springbok Women vs Tunisia
**Tuesday, 8 October 2024**
– 10:00: Uganda vs Tunisia
– 12:00: Junior Springbok Women vs Rhino Rugby
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