Girl Power Rugby Academy helps girls build confidence through sport

Pippa Hudson speaks with Zoe Naude, SA Rugby referee and founder of Girl Power Rugby Academy.

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

South Africa is a rugby nation, and the sport has done wonders at uniting us.

Our male rugby players have been doing the country proud, both as World Cup winners and as Olympic bronze medallists.

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However, it wasn’t just our men aiming to make a mark.

Our Women’s Rugby 7’s team represented the country at the Olympics for the first time.

They finished 11^th but Naude has no doubt that a medal could be in our future.

Naude played touch rugby when she was younger but did not have an opportunity to play contact rugby until she was 17.

“That is when the rugby bug bit me.”

- Zoe Naude, Founder of Girl Power Rugby Academy

After making the provincial rugby team, she began coaching, refereeing, and founded Girl Power Rugby Academy.

Through the Academy, she trains girls from the ages of 6 to 18 on how to play full contact rugby.

Naude says that rugby builds confidence in girls, especially if they do not feel they fit in sports like netball or hockey.

In the last few years, women’s rugby has seen huge growth and we currently have around 6000 girls and young women trying out the sport.

When it comes to training boys and girls, she says there is no material difference and the focus for both is just making sure they can play safely.

“Rugby is a game for all sizes.”  

- Zoe Naude, Founder of Girl Power Rugby Academy

To find out more about getting your child involved, check out their website here.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.