Africa Shirt Donation

In January 2015 I had the opportunity of returning to Lesotho in Southern Africa to teach for 6 months. Unlike my last visit in 2011, this time I coached a local side within the capital city of Maseru called the Maseru Warriors. Rugby in Lesotho despite being surrounded by South Africa is very much in its infancy with rugby on being played by a limited number of local schools and those players who have played before, learning the game during their school days over the border in South Africa.

Lesotho being a poor country, resources are somewhat scarce. There are no designated rugby pitches so teams have to either use football pitches or areas of open ground, with very little covering of grass. You might also see from the picture that the posts are somewhat improvised; scaffolding posts.

Equipment in terms of tackle bags and pads are few and far between in fact the picture shows the total number of those items used in coaching the Warriors and available to me when I was coaching the national side.

Apart from equipment and pitches another resource which is in short supply is kit. On my return home I made enquiries as to the availability of used kit. It was not long before Newtown RFC together with the Newtown High School stepped up to the challenge, providing not only senior jerseys and shorts but cover all age ranges from the junior section of the club.

To date the following have benefited from the clubs generosity Swallows Rugby (Mazenod), Maseru Warriors, Lesotho Women’s Rugby Club and Holy Infants School (Quthing).

My thanks go to Alan Owen for his coordinating prowess and the club’s generosity. You have made a massive difference to those who have very little.

Robert Liscombe

Updated 20:15 - 2 Sep 2019 by Web Admin