A siren screams at 12 noon, signalling the start of the weekly sports period at Moremogolo Primary School in Phokeng, Rustenburg.
A group of about 50 boys — aged between 11 and 12 — rushes to the school’s storeroom to fetch their rugby kit.
There are only 15 rugby tops, which coach Bridge Ramorwa hands out to the most promising players. There are no rugby shorts and those boys who did not get tops must play in their school uniform. But this doesn’t bother them in the slightest as they grab two rugby balls and rush off to the field.
”Go tla siama, reseke ra fela pelo [things will be fine, let us not give up],” says Karabo Magano, encouraging his fellow teammates.
The boys gather at the patchy football field where Ramorwa gives them instructions and divides them into teams. Those without kit move to the north side of the field.
Ramorwa blows his whistle and the training session begins.
”Rugby is not what these boys are used to, but the culture is beginning to grow. We really want to change the false perception that rugby is only for white people,” says Ramorwa, who is a consultant for the Royal Bafokeng Sports Holdings (RBSH).
Unlike in other provinces, such as the Eastern Cape or Mpumalanga, it is rare to find young black children playing rugby in the North West.
The team, which falls under the Bafokeng Crocodiles, was established earlier this year, but looking at the way the boys play and take instructions, it is as if they have been playing together for much longer.
There hasn’t been an official match yet, but their determination and passion could see them growing into good rugby players.
”So far there are 16 teams around Rustenburg and one coach. I sometimes have to ask my senior players from the Bafokeng Crocodiles to help me to coach these boys. I see only one team in a week and that is not enough,” says Ramorwa. ”We also don’t have facilities such as training kits and grassed fields.”
The team will benefit from a deal struck between the RBSH and Leopards Rugby.
The partnership aims to get more black people playing for the Platinum Leopards, formally known as the North West Province Leopards, which compete in the Absa Currie Cup First Division and the Vodacom Cup.
The RBSH made history last month when it acquired a 49,9% stake in Leopards Rugby, making it the first black-owned subsidiary in South Africa to buy a professional rugby franchise. The RBSH will be the main sponsors of the Platinum Leopards for the next five years.
Mpueleng Pooe, public affairs executive for RBSH, said: ”We see this as an important contribution towards transformation in rugby and the development of young black rugby players. It gives us an opportunity to buy quality players and see the team advance to the top five of the Absa Currie Cup within the next three years.
”We would like to see young black players rise through the ranks to represent our nation. People in the mines are interested in rugby, but that is not enough. We would like to see it played in the villages at grass-roots level.
”The partnership will not only benefit the Bafokeng nation, but everyone in North West,” says Pooe.
The RBSH is talking to the North West University about the possibility of establishing a rugby academy for young and promising black rugby players from the villages and schools in and around the Phokeng area in Rustenburg.
Ramorwa said: ”It’s about time things started happening; people have just been talking in the past and not doing anything. This deal will benefit our black people. We want to see these boys rise through the ranks and, with the plans in place for a sport academy, we are going to achieve this.”