Delta Drone TuksWomensRugby7's team won an invitational tournament over the weekend at the University of Pretoria, but that is not the real story.
Libbie Janse van Rensburg (Tuks captain) decided to organise the tournament in an attempt to promote women’s sevens rugby. If she has her way, it will be the first of many more to come.
“It is essential to continually create awareness for women’s sevens rugby as it a new Olympic sport. One of the ways to do so is to organise tournaments to give teams the opportunity to play. You can’t expect players just to train but never put into practice what they have learned.
“I was pleasantly surprised when Northwest Pukke accepted our invitation as I did not realise that they even had a women’s team. The more teams there are in South Africa, the better it will be for our sport, especially when it comes to international tournaments as there will be a bigger pool of players from which selections can be made. Hopefully, with our next tournament, we will have another new team playing."
The Delta Drone TuksWomensRugby7's team had their work cut out to beat Pirates 19-12 during Saturday’s final. In fairness, it must be said that the Tuks team was not at full strength.
In the playoff for the third place, Mamelodi managed to beat Northwest Pukke 31-5.
Janse van Rensburg admits to it being frustrated to watch all the action from the sidelines as she has not yet fully recovered from the ankle injury she sustained during the tournament in Rome. At this stage, she is not sure whether she will be able to play when the team leaves to compete in the Oktober Fest Tournament in Munchen.
“In a way, I think it is good that I am not playing as it challenges other players to take the initiative on the field. I must say I am quite impressed with how the likes Kemi Baloyi and Loli Hlabangane have led from the front over the weekend.”
This weekend the Delta Drone TuksWomensRugby7's team will be competing in the Xando Tshwane Tournament at Harlequins.
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