Transformation: SARU calls on corporate SA for help

Springboks Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane and Jan Serfontein will be in attendance with SARU Deputy President Mark Alexander, and former Springbok prop and Eastern Province Academy Manager, Robbie Kempson, when the plan is launched in Johannesburg next week.

SARU is inviting corporate SA to be a partner in the initiative which has a fundamental educational component to prepare young players for a post-rugby career. The new foundation will support plans to expand the tertiary education component at the academies in Border, Eastern Province, South Western Districts and Boland.

"The plan with the four academies has always been to produce more and better players with transformation an important component," said SARU CEO Jurie Roux.

"We are looking at corporate South Africa to partner us in this programme – with the emphasis on providing quality education to the players who attend the four SARU Academies as well as at academies in other provinces – as we aim to increase the number of players we roll out into the rugby system every year.

"With this in mind, we've established the Rugby Education Foundation as a vehicle to help assist with funding for players around South Africa in various academies in gaining a post-school education."

The four SARU academies, which have been jointly funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and SARU, have been very successful in their three years since inception.

More than 50 black players have emerged through the academies into senior professional rugby in the past three years.

The education component at these academies is seen as an important cornerstone and players who are enrolled at the academies are encouraged to study at a tertiary institution while they prepare for careers as professional rugby players.

The programme will be officially unveiled in Sandton on Tuesday, November 24.