UKZN rugby coach Ryan Strudwick “oversees” his charges in the Garden of Hope.UKZN Impi Back on Rugby Warpath
The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s rugby side, the UKZN Impi, kicks off its 2015 Varsity Shield campaign with a televised fixture against the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town on Monday, 2 February.
The full list of fixtures involving the Impi side, announced by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) and Varsity Cup (Pty) Ltd, is as follows:
2 February 4.45pm: UWC (UWC Sports Stadium, Cape Town)
9 February 6.30pm: Tshwane UniTech (Peter Booysen Park, Pietermaritzburg)
16 February 6.30pm: WITS (Peter Booysen Park, Pietermaritzburg)
23 February 6.30pm: Fort Hare (Davidson Rugby Stadium, Alice)
2 March 6.30pm UWC (Howard College, Durban)
9 March 6.30pm Tshwane UniTech (TUT Stadium, Pretoria)
16 March 6.30pm WITS (Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg)
30 March 6.30pm: Fort Hare (Howard College, Durban)
UKZN rugby players took a break from their exams and training schedule to spend a day working in the Garden of Hope at the Jes Foord Foundation’s Rape Crisis Centre in Mariannhill, outside Durban. The Rape Crisis Centre was recently in the media spotlight when it was forced to close its doors after burglars ransacked the facility.
Rape survivor and foundation patron, Jes Foord was on hand to meet the UKZN players and outline the work done at the facility.
The Impi have supported the Foundation’s crisis centres as their charity for the past three years, and funds accumulated during the Varsity Shield’s “pink ball tries” initiative are donated to the foundation.
Ms Trish Buchanan, Project Manager at the Foundation, was appreciative of the help the students put in: ‘Thank you so much to the young men who came to work in our Garden of Hope on Saturday, it was a huge help. We are looking forward to working with the team in 2015.’
Mark Schulze