Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...

principle of a non-racial, non-political and democratic rugby community, so as to ensure the
leveling of the playing fields on and off the field (SA Rugby, n.d.).
2.2.1 Women’s Club Rugby
When the South African Rugby Union (SARU) accepted women’s rugby into its fold in 2000,
there were less than 10 clubs which were mainly situated at the Blue Bulls, Golden Lions and
Falcons rugby union. Women’s rugby achieved success in the early period and experienced an
exponential growth due to SARU initiated campaigns through the Provinces to establish club
rugby so as to dispel the stereotypes born of misconceptions about the sport. The recruitment
drive resulted in the affiliation of 65 clubs in July 2001 and on National Women’s Day (9
August 2001) the programme was officially launched in Pretoria. At the end of 2001, there
were 91 clubs throughout the country which further increased to 123 by March 2002, with
Eastern Province and Border region showing remarkably growth especially in the underprivileged
communities. With the increasing numbers and competitiveness, women’s rugby
was now an established female sport in South Africa.
Women’s rugby playing numbers declined between 2003 and 2006, as women faced the
daunting task of managing clubs, raising funds and yet playing. In addition, senior players
who had aspiration of representing the National Team retired after realising that they were not
meeting the selection criteria.
After a few years of struggling for survival, rugby is now being played in over 143 amateur
clubs (Figure 1). This resurgence in the women’s games is due to an initiative by Mahlubi Puzi
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