{"id":85003,"date":"2025-10-16T14:08:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T12:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=85003"},"modified":"2025-10-16T14:08:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T12:08:52","slug":"inaugural-u16-girls-camp-marks-major-milestone-on-player-pathway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=85003","title":{"rendered":"Inaugural u16 Girls camp marks major milestone on player pathway"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rugby players in a huddle at the u16 Elite Player Development camp for girls in Paarl, 5-11 October 2025. (Photo: SA Rugby)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The inaugural Under-16 Elite Player Development (EPD) camp for girls, which ran concurrently with the traditional U16 boys\u2019 camp in Paarl last week, marked a significant milestone in SA Rugby\u2019s national pathway for young talent.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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While the boys\u2019 squad delivered their customary top-class camp activities, it was the new girls\u2019 contingent that proved particularly impressive, demonstrating high levels of commitment and skill throughout the week-long programme, during the school holiday from 5 to 11 October.<\/p>\n

The camps, designed as a powerful intervention at a critical stage of development in the careers of young players, placed a strong focus on technical assessment.<\/p>\n

The technical leadership for the boys\u2019 squad was provided by SA Schools coaches Lwazi Zangqa (backs) and Cobus van Dyk (forwards), while former SA Schools coaches Katleho Lynch (backs) and Sean Erasmus (forwards) looked after all on and off-field technical aspects during the groundbreaking girls\u2019 camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cA core function of the U16 EPD camp is comprehensive assessment, and at the conclusion of the programme, every single participant received a detailed camp report or player profile,\u201d said Herman Masimla, SA Rugby\u2019s Senior Manager for Development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese profiles highlight scores achieved across various metrics and clearly define the areas where each player needs to improve. The reports will be shared with the relevant school and provincial coaches, allowing for immediate and targeted intervention discussions to take place, ensuring the pathway process is data-driven and actionable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile player development remains the main outcome, with special attention given to mental conditioning and preparation for the young athletes, the EPD camps are also a vital platform where invited coaches, S&C coaches, and team officials have the opportunity to show their abilities at a national level, strengthening the entire rugby ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

The productive week also included essential knowledge sharing, with top professional referees, Aimee Barrett-Theron and Cwengile Jadezweni, visiting the two EPD camps to lead discussions on the laws of the game.<\/p>\n

The success of the U16 EPD camps paves the way for most of these young athletes to continue their journey and be included in next year’s U17 EPD intake, further demonstrating the national pathway\u2019s commitment to growing the next generation of South African rugby heroes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The inaugural Under-16 Elite Player Development (EPD) camp for girls, which ran concurrently with the traditional U16 boys\u2019 camp in Paarl last week, marked a significant milestone in SA Rugby\u2019s national pathway for young talent. While the boys\u2019 squad delivered their customary top-class camp activities, it was the new girls\u2019 contingent that proved particularly impressive, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":85004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/85004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}