Africa in Castres
Africa in Castres – An eventful week in Castres, in the southwest of France. The 7 best coachesof the African continent gatheredfor an intensive coaching workshop, with Adama Bakhoum Regional Training Manager and Mostafa Jelti Regional Development Officer.
Amady Diallo (Senegal) Mohamed Ali Hedi (Tunisia) Ricardo Loubscher (South Africa) Cyprian Mandenge (Zimbabwe) Roger Thompson (Namibia) Charles Ngovi (Kenya) and Noé Rakotoarivelo (Madagascar) participated inthe second part of their World Rugby coaching training level3 ; the first one having taken place in 2015 in Marcoussis (France).
From May 30th to June 3rd, theydiscovered the city of Castres for the very first time. This stronghold of French rugby welcomed them with buckets of rain, and the sun did not show up until the end of the week. But bad weather did nothing to dishearten our African coaches who still had an excellent time.
They spent most of their time at the Levezou training center, home of the Castres Olympique professional team currently competing in the French Top14's quarterfinals. They were hosted by Michel Giacomini Director of the training center as well as Matthias Rolland CEO ofthe club. They were then treated to sessions delivered by top-quality speakers such as Romain Teulet, huge kicking specialist- record holder ofthe number of points kickedin a national championship with the same club ; Joe El Abd forward coachand Frédéric Charrier full back coach as well as Christophe Urios head coachof the team.
The set-up of the workshop allowed every trainee to exchange, ask questions and take notes. In spite of relatively different levels within the group, all were able to learn and take home valuable additional knowledge. This training course was also the opportunity to realize that in the end there is little difference between northern hemisphere rugby and that of the southern hemisphere. Castres Olympique as well as the other coachescould also take advantage of Ricardo Loubscher's strong experience, as he used to be the Springboks full back coach during the last World Cup. An enriching interaction for allindeed !
Our 7 coacheshad a memorable experience inCastres despite the relentless rain and most importantly have received a valued diploma.
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Adama Bakhoum Regional Training Manager and Mostafa Jelti Regional Development Officer
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About Rugby Africa:
Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com) is the governing body of rugby in Africa and one of the regional associations under World Rugby. It unites all African countries that play rugby union, rugby sevens, and women’s rugby. Rugby Africa organizes various competitions, including the qualifying tournaments for the Rugby World Cup and the Africa Sevens, a qualifying competition for the Olympic Games. With 39 member unions, Rugby Africa is dedicated to promoting and developing rugby across the continent. World Rugby highlighted Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia as three of the six emerging nations experiencing strong growth in rugby.
