Wicks' Club Coach visits Cape Town

Rugby ties Randwick to Altius Collegians, Cape Town

Randwick club coach, Craig Morrison, travelled to Cape Town last week to run coaching clinics for players and practical coaching sessions for the senior and junior club coaches at Altius Collegians Rugby Club in Mitchell's Plain, District Six, Cape Town.

"It was an overwhelming experience to be welcomed into the heart and soul of a community that has suffered so much from the oppression of apartheid and to then realise that at the centre of this community is its rugby"

Altius Investment Holdings, a Cape Town based company, has committed financially to funding an alliance between Randwick and Collegians, a 35 year old club that started during apartheid, so as to enable the young players, coaches and administration from this community-based club, the latest and best support and advice around coaching and training methods, club administration and pathway development for players.

"They are a very proud club with a lot of success given their short history. Altius Collegians recently spent six years in Super League ‘A' but were recently relegated to Division B, more a sign of their lack of structure around defence, continuity and recycle, and their eagerness to try and score off every phase which often sees really good attack go unrewarded with the last pass or a rush of blood. They are a very exciting and frustrating club to watch, the raw potential often let down by the basics. Having said that, on average, most players can throw a long pass on the run and find space as good as any player at the Wicks, which reflects to me the amount of time they spend playing soccer and rugby after school. Fair to say none of these players spend time on Facebook and the only chat room they know is the table they eat dinner at".

It was a very productive week with Craig spending time with club coaches and administrators during the day, conducting training sessions each afternoon and evening and attending a full weekend of senior matches on the Saturday and junior matches on the Sunday. Monday saw another opportunity to think and talk rugby. "I ran a clinic for the juniors and a "coach the coaches" session to round off the week before flying back that afternoon. They are very eager to learn how we approach the game here and to pick up anything they can to improve their club and the aspirations of their players. It's a different landscape over there, and this community needs every leg up they can get".

Altius Investment Holdings sponsor the club but, unlike other clubs Collegians compete with, they do not pay any of their players but are putting resources into the coaching structures, off-field management/administration and development of their players which is the purpose of the alliance. "Randwick is also a good fit for them as the cultural heritage of our club reflects the mixed cultures of Mitchell's Plain where 1.2 million blacks and coloured South Africans live. They all remember the Ella brothers refusing to play the Springboks on tour".

Randwick Rugby wishes Altius Collegians all the best for Round One of their season which coincides with the Wicks' opening round clash with Warringah on April 2.