The prestigious youth tournament, which ran from 5 to 9 October at Langenhoven Gymnasium, brought together promising talent from across the country. All 15 provincial unions were represented, alongside a SWD XV-side, in a celebration of grassroots rugby development.<\/p>\n
The week culminated in a thrilling finale, with the Border U15 team emerging as the unofficial champions after a spirited victory over Western Province in the closing match.<\/p>\n
Mr Alexander expressed SA Rugby\u2019s pride in its enduring partnership with SARLA, commending the organisation\u2019s unwavering commitment to nurturing rugby in underrepresented communities, particularly among small, rural, non-traditional and non-private schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cSA Rugby is proud to be associated with SARLA. Their dedication and efforts to grow and develop rugby within our ecosystem are truly commendable,\u201d said Mr Alexander.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Gavin Varejes and his team, thank you for your significant contribution to making the Iqhawe Week and the Vuka Programme a game for all.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese Legends have given so much back to the game \u2013 on and off the field. Their continued investment in the next generation is a powerful reminder of rugby\u2019s enduring spirit and the strength of our shared legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Alexander also extended heartfelt appreciation to SWD and its president, Mr Ben Brinkhuis, for their warm hospitality and support throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cA sincere thank you to SWD and Mr Brinkhuis \u2013 your support and hospitality are greatly appreciated, and it was good to take our game to that part of the world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Participating teams in the 2025 Iqhawe Week included Eastern Province, SWD, Griquas, Border, SWD XV, Western Province, Boland, Pumas, Golden Lions, Valke, Griffons, Sharks, Leopards, Blue Bulls and Limpopo Blue Bulls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The prestigious youth tournament, which ran from 5 to 9 October at Langenhoven Gymnasium, brought together promising talent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-212534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}