Hilton College launches its first-ever girls’ rugby coaching clinic, named “Brothers in Rugby,” opening its fields, coaches, and resources to inspire the growth of the women’s game in South Africa.
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (11 September 2025) – In parallel with the ongoing Women’s Rugby World Cup, Hilton College has launched an exciting initiative aimed at developing women’s rugby in South Africa. The program, called Brothers in Rugby, recently hosted a ladies’ rugby coaching clinic on its campus, giving aspiring young players access to top-level coaching and insights into the game.
At first, one might be confused by “Brothers in Rugby”? For Ladies? But it makes perfect sense as Burger Nel, Hilton College’s Director of Sport, shared the vision behind the initiative.
“I attended the Winter Games earlier this year and watched the under-15 girls’ matches. I was blown away by the talent at grassroots level and wanted to see how boys’ schools like ours could support and develop the girls’ game. The idea is simple: we want to be a brother to the sister schools and young players around us, sharing resources, expertise, and opportunities.”
Burger emphasised the collaborative nature of the project, hoping it would inspire other schools:
“The idea came about how can we help how can we start a movement across the country where we can share what we’ve got and just trying to develop the girls game.”
On encouraging other boys’ schools to join, Burger said:
“We just called the Brothers in Rugby so we want to be a brother to all the sister schools that we have around here and all the girls in the area and that’s 100 percent the idea is we want all the boys schools across the country just to follow suit just to take this initiative um and see if they can make it better so we can just all keep on developing and growing it.”
The turnout at the clinic was remarkable, with nearly 100 young players participating on the field. Burger highlighted the commitment and enthusiasm of both the girls and the boys’ schools involved.
“When I challenged them to join us there wasn’t any doubt if all of them put their hand up and say we want to do this and we want to help and share our expertise.”
Hilton College is setting a new benchmark for schoolboy rugby programs, supporting women’s rugby. With initiatives like Brothers in Rugby, aspiring players now have the guidance, mentorship, and opportunities to grow the sport, inspired by the global momentum of women’s rugby and the excitement of the ongoing World Cup.
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