bru background

Schools

Currently we have 105 schools playing rugby in Botswana. Majority of them are in the South Eastern region covering Mochudi, Gaborone, Ramotswa and Otse.

There are only two schools with a rugby field which serves as the field for all school rugby matches.

All other rugby playing schools train on dust/sand/soccer pitches in their respective school grounds.

These schools are coached by rugby knowledgeable teachers or development officers who have been assigned by the Union to coach them.All these coaches for school rugby have no formal or international recognized coaching certificate to do so but rely on previous playing and coaching experiences.

The union development officers who coach schools are chosen from previous year school rugby players who have finished school and are awaiting inclusion into tertiary institutions for further education. A small allowance/stipend is paid to the development officers to help them primarily in travel expenses.

*This has been the situation from 2002 and one which is neither suitable nor sustainable with the ever increasing interest of schools towards the sport. We need to accredit and increase the number of coaches in order to improve the level of rugby in our schools and fully exploit the interest in the sport countrywide.

Community Youth Rugby Clubs (CYRC’s)

The establishment of Community Youth Rugby Clubs (CYC’s) is the answer to all our failures and hindrances that face us now. These are clubs open to everyone; male or female, school going or not. They are to serve the immediate community in which they are established.
Our definition of a CYC is;

• A club with male and female players (U9,U11,U14,U16,U19,U21,CLUB)
• A club with a playing facility
• A club with a committee and registered with the registrar of societies
• A club with coaches and referees

Club rugby

In the short term, the strengthening of the clubs will maintain the momentum of the growth of the sport.

The clubs currently in need of strengthening are;
1. Botswana Defence Force -BDF Sharks (Francistown)
2. Botswana Defence Force -BDF Cheetahs (Gaborone)
3. Botswana Defence Force -BDF Phikwe
4. Botswana Defence Force –Desert Whales (Thebephatshwa)
5. Jwaneng Wildebeest
6. Gaborone Hogs
7. Ramotswa Buffaloes
8. Francistown Tuskers
9. Orapa Diggers
10. Maun Dogs
11. NIIT
12. UB Rhinos
13. Kasane Wild-dogs
14. Mochudi
15. Metsimotlhabe Gideon’s
16. Palapye Bulls
17. Ghanzi Hungry Lions

In the long run we anticipate new clubs from the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), University of Botswana (UB), Teacher Training Colleges (TTC’s), Vocational Training Colleges (VTC’s), Brigades and Community Youth Rugby Clubs (CYRC’s).

*Establishment of CYRC’s and strengthening of clubs will be centered around three (3) pillars; Venue (acquisition, preparation and maintenance), Personnel i.e. Technical support (coaches and referees) and Players

National teams

Our junior national teams i.e. U19 and U21, currently have started playing annual friendlies with neighboring countries.

Our senior national team and the 7’s teams attend or compete in tournaments and fixtures drawn by the International Rugby Board (IRB) and/or the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR). Both of these teams lack consistency in winning matches.

*To select the best players from all over the country, we must engage a strong local competition which will offer everyone a fair chance to proceed to the national teams purely on merit. Thus club games, territorial games, regional games and then National Team games should be the natural progression of any player.

Administration

Ever since the formation of the Botswana Rugby Union in 1992, the matters of the association have always been run by a B.R.U Executive Committee made up of the President, Secretary and Treasurer who are all elected into position in the annual AGM. The executive committee was expanded in 2007 to include Vice-President and an additional member.

The general committee is made up of representatives of clubs, referees and school coordinators inclusive of the executive committee.

All the positions in the union are on voluntary basis.

*For the Union to have a professional and focused approach, technical experts and full time management employees and a proper structure of command are needed to run the plan. This goes hand in hand with a constitution that allows for the changes and progression of the Union.