An exciting new competition for schools rugby was launched in Pretoria today when internet service provider @lantic announced a national sevens rugby series for schools to be held from August 4 th to October 27 th, 2007. The series will consist of 10 tournaments around the country and has already received the blessing of the South African School's Information meeting and national sevens coach, Paul Treu.
Schools from regions in Pretoria, Vereeniging, Upington, Durban, Middelburg, Polokwane, Klerksdorp, Bloemfontein, George and Paarl will host tournaments, with between 16 and 24 schools from that region participating. In all, over 200 schools will be part of this unique new concept in schools rugby.
As an added incentive, a Player of the Tournament will be selected at every tournament. These 10 players will be invited by Treu to the Springbok 7’s training camp in preparation for the first two international sevens tournaments in Dubai and George in late November and early December 2007.
These 10 players will also make up the @lantic Invitation Team that will travel to Dubai to play against local junior teams from the Arabian Gulf at the IRB Dubai Sevens tournament at the end of November. Their costs will be covered by @lantic.
According to Dederick Venter, Marketing Director of @lantic, his company has been working closely with sports promotor, Willem Strauss, in developing this series.
“@lantic’s national footprint makes the sponsorship a natural fit and a natural progression from @lantic’s previous involvement with the Pumas Currie Cup team, as well as the current rugby development partnership with the SA Rugby Legends. Most of the money generated by rugby goes towards the professional code of the game which caters for less than 1% of the players. @lantic would like to focus on the breeding ground of future Springboks which is our current u.19 schools players,” Venter said.
“We believe that 7’s is the ideal platform for skills development in young players. Proof of this is the performance of players like Brent Russell, Stefan Basson and Phillip Burger, to name but a few. Sevens rugby has never received the same attention in South Africa as it’s 15 man counterpart and we believe we can assist in making South Africa the top 7’s country in the world.”
South African national sevens coach Treu complimented the initiative by @lantic & Strauss: “I see this as an exciting pilot project that can lead to good things. Sevens rugby at school level needed something like this and I look forward to see the stars of the future emerging during the series.
Sport promoter, Willem Strauss, says that the tournament will contribute towards enhancing the skills levels of players at school level, as well as discovering new talent. "The advantage of 7's rugby is that the small rural district schools can compete against the super rugby schools from the cities."
According to Lindsay Mould, chairman of SA School's Rugby, this is a fantastic initiative which should assist Paul Treu as national sevens coach in identifying talent for future Springbok sevens teams as well as offering young players, who are the future of South African rugby, additional exposure and development opportunities.
The schedule for the series is:
August 4 th: Overkruin (Pretoria); August 18 th: HTS Vereeniging (Vereeniging); August 25 th: Duineveld (Upington); September 1 st: Glenwood (Durban); September 8 th: Kanonkop (Middelburg); September 15 th: HTS Tom Naude (Polokwane); October 6 th: Wesvalia (Klerksdorp); October 13 th: Jim Fouche (Bloemfontein); October 20 th: Outeniqua (George); October 27 th: Paarl Gym (Paarl).
For more information contact:
BIZSPORT’s Willem Strauss (0824570190) and Daryll Weir (0832821867) or @lantic’s Paula Wessels (012 9904600).
About @lantic Internet
@lantic Internet Services, a member of the AltX-listed Vox Telecom Group, is the largest independent consumer Internet Service Provider ( ISP) in South Africa. With 196 franchised branches nationwide, the company offers internet solutions to private users as well as to small and medium-sized businesses. www.lantic.net
About Vox Telecom Group
Vox Telecom Group Limited is a leading alternative, independent telecom operator, providing voice and data services to the Southern African market. Vox Telecom Group aims to provide cost-effective, innovative telecommunications solutions to consumer and business customers whilst ensuring the delivery of outstanding customer service. The Group competes through its primary brands DataPro, @lantic and Orion Telecom and has offices in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Pretoria as well as in Windhoek, Namibia. Vox Telecom Group is a listed company trading on the Alternative Exchange (AltX), a division of the JSE Limited. Investor and shareholder information is available at
