Rugby’s Field of

Vusa Academy gives Langa locals a chance to shine on the field, and avoid gangsterism

THERE is an awakening happening every day in Langa – and it is as stimulating for the mind as it is heart-warming for the soul.

It happens at the Vusa Rugby Academy, where the Langa Stadium has been turned into the field of dreams.

Langa is a township whose people know hardship, know struggle and know gang violence. In 2017 the township was hard-hit by ‘Gurans’, which is a name given to a fight between two feuding gangs.

Youngsters were targeted and remain a target. The streets, at certain times of the day, scream danger. The destructive gang influence is an ongoing presence.

Vusa gives boys an escape from those streets where gang fame so often turns to shame. Vusa every year upskills 120 youngsters, aged nine to 13, from five primary schools in Langa.

These boys, instead of being vulnerable to the elements on the streets, are strengthened by a structured post-school rugby and education programme.

Vusa means to awaken – and that was exactly the intention of Bishops Prep’s Brendan Fogarty when he launched an Academy, whose mission statement was to a change a life more than to exclusively improve a rugby skill.

Fogarty is the inspiration for the Vusa Academy but he attributes the success to Langa community leaders and the passion from within these leaders to invest time and energy in each boy.

The rewards are obvious because so many of the young boys who arrived as nine and 10 year-olds are still involved with rugby in Langa. As many as 12 former Vusa Academy players are playing for the local Busy Bee RFC under 18s.

It’s a statistic which delights Fogarty.

“To see the likes of Mahle Mgqoboka, Lingelihle Ndabaninzi, Mbongo Sophasa, Siyamanga Sam, Sanele Mdumata, Thabo Tyantsi, Yanga Wambi, Thembile Justice, Aphumelele Sithole, Anga Nobetbe, Likhona Jezile and Nzwana Manentsa revelling in the U-18s just makes it all so worthwhile,” says Fogarty. “And then there’s a player like Siviwe Kewana who is on a scholarship at SACS and plays for the U-16AS.”

Fogarty insists the rugby component is a snapshot of the true value of the Academy because education and the opportunity to change lives is fundamental to the motivation of the Vusa leadership.

Vusa is about creating opportunities for the boys. It’s about rugby and learning. For the group who train on the Monday, there’s a group in the Leap School classroom being tutored in Maths and English. On the Tuesday the respective groups trade places, and so it goes for Wednesday and Thursday.

The Fridays are traditionally about an activity outside of Langa and an emphasis is on social growth. Saturday is match day and Sunday is the only day the Academy isn’t operational.

Fogarty’s Bishops Prep is aligned closely with Vusa and learning opportunities take place in Langa and also at Bishops Prep. The essence of Vusa is to develop structures and people within the community. It’s