Try and Stop Us
Work with your union
Give your union the coaches and referees it needs. Talk to the team about training near you.
Developing women's rugby on the continent is one of Rugby Africa's core missions.
It is a daily fight that takes a lot of work, will and courage. By changing mindsets, we are enabling women to express themselves through a sport of strong values.
The Leading Rugby Program
We still face many challenges. Some unions have not yet made women's rugby development a priority. Religious considerations, public opinion and cultural background can be hindrances too.
A lack of women in union leadership, together with too few players and too little infrastructure, makes it hard for those who want to play — and young women seldom have a female role model to look up to in the world of rugby.
Every problem has a solution
The process can be long, but it is made easier by clear, committed measures. Barriers are never unbridgeable — our approach is to:
- Make women's rugby compulsory and back unions to deliver development programs
- Integrate women into union staff and leadership
- Protect women's rugby and make its competitions more attractive
- Raise visibility through films, photos and articles
Get Into Rugby — a springboard
The Get Into Rugby program is also a springboard for the women's game, and Rugby Africa expects a lot from it. A girl who plays rugby, makes new friends, discovers the values of the sport and takes pleasure in playing will one day become a woman and a mother who passes that passion on to her own children.
Leadership & visibility
In 2018, World Rugby and Rugby Africa organised a Women's Rugby Leadership Forum in Gaborone, Botswana — proof of a shared commitment to push the women's game upward.
Rugby Africa's Regional Development Officers have made it a top priority: increasing union support, running specific workshops for union development officers, and using communication to raise awareness, link unions and players, and build common strategies. Greater visibility for women will draw in many more to the game.
It is hand in hand that Rugby Africa and the African unions will rise to this challenge.
Leaving women's rugby aside is out of the question — the Confederation is committed to integrating women across the game.
