THE curtain came down on the second edition of the Falcon College Under-14 Rugby Coaching Festival on Sunday in Esigodini with the tournament director, Orlando Fernandes outlining his plans to grow the tournament next year by including more schools from less fortunate communities.

From Friday until Sunday, experts in the game from South Africa, Greg Miller, Marius Hurter, Nico le Roux, Michael Horak and Jacques Botes with the help of former Sables coach, Brendan Dawson imparted knowledge to local youngsters who then put that to practice by playing matches against each other.

Fernandes, a former Zimbabwe national Under-14 rugby team assistant coach is convinced that there is lots of talent in the less privileged schools, hence the need to involve there so as to unearth that potential. This year, Northlea, Highlanders and Churchill were the only public schools which took part in the three-day fiesta with the rest being private institutions.

“I would obviously like to make this tournament a lot bigger, I want to expand the concept I want to extend it to junior schools, I want to be able to also invite more disadvantaged schools so that they can gain, I would also like to offer the course at lower cost to coaches from disadvantaged schools because that’s where a lot of hidden talent is in my opinion,’’ Fernandes said.

He described this year’s instalment as being incredible with the youngsters and their coaches having gained a lot while the mentors from the Investec International Rugby Academy displayed a lot of eagerness for the game.

“I think it’s been fantastic, the boys have gained a lot in terms of basic skills, I think the coaches have learnt a lot in terms of how to handle drills, how to conduct a coaching session and how to provide feedback to boys during and after a match. I think the coaches have been fantastic, they bring a lot of energy with them, enthusiasm and commitment to this game so I have been really satisfied or pleased with this tournament,’’ said Fernandes.

He expressed his gratitude to their main sponsors, AMG Global who he said without their financial support they would have not been able to hold the festival.

 “I understand that many companies are struggling currently but AMG Global for us came through in a big way, they have been generous, they have been supportive and they have really helped make this tournament possible. Without their help this wouldn’t have taken place, there were other contributions made on a much smaller scale but every little bit does help. I would like to thank Ram Petroleum, The Wearhouse, Bonsa Spar who gave what they could in order to make this tournament a success,’’ he said.

Schools which participated in the three-day rugby feast were Falcon, Christian Brothers College, Churchill, Northlea, Highlands, Barwick, Midlands Christian College, Heritage, Lomagundi, Hillcrest and Whitestone. Falcon, CBC and Lomagundi also had their first teams in attendance but the seniors did not engage in full contact.

Falcon College Under-14 Rugby Coaching Festival day three full results

Highlanders 20-10 Whitestone, Falcon 15-10 Gateway, Churchill 0-50 Lomagundi, MCC 5-10 Northlea, Falcon 5-10 Lomagundi, Whitestone/Highlands 5-40 Barwick, Hillcrest 30-0 CBC

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