Komani U15 stars to play for Border
Two selected from 500 boys
Two Komani boys, JT Prince from Hangklip and Ndimphiwe Songqwaba from Sixishe high schools in Ezibeleni, have been selected to represent Border at the South African Legends Iqhawe U15 Week, set to take place in Johannesburg next week.
They were part of a rigorous selection process two months ago during which 500 schoolboys battled it out in the Vuka Festival at Qonce, which acted as trials for only 23 spots.
Initially, 48 boys were selected, with that trimmed to 32 players after two weeks of intense training and friendly matches.
Finally, the team of 23 players was selected a fortnight ago.
The tournament, under the banner of the SA Rugby Legends Association, forms an important cog in rugby development at grassroots level and, more importantly, focuses on pupils from previously disadvantaged schools in rural areas.
It creates an equal playing field and competitive environment and pathway for these pupils to compete at a level where, in previous years, they were not granted the opportunity in most Craven Week Teams.
It also acts as a springboard for young and dynamic players to take the leap to the Under 16 Grant Khomo teams and breaches the level of play between U13 and U16 Craven Week teams.
It also gives them an opportunity to be snatched up by traditional rugby schools like Selbourne, Dale and Queen’s College.
Nineteen schools from all corners of the Border region are represented in the team, reflecting the ground-breaking work the technical team have done in searching through the entire Border region for raw talent.
Schools and players stretched from the Kwelera, Ncera, Qonce and Bhisho areas to Dimbaza, Middeldrift, Komani, Keiskammahoek, Transkei and Fort Beaufort, to
name a few. During the last tournament, played at Paarl Gimnasium in 2019, the Border team won two matches and lost one, including beating Western Province on the final day.
The team is currently ranked third in the 14-team tourney.
A few of the team’s top achievements over the years are:
Simamkele Gege – SA Development team 2017
Indiphile Tyeda – SA Schools A – 2019
Okuhle Siyeni – SA Schools A – 2019
Michael Maseti – SA Schools A – 2022
Siseko Mani – Player of the Tournament, Iqhawe Week 2019. He received a study bursary from My Players worth R120,000.
Lots of Iqhawe players have been selected for various Craven Week teams.