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MOSSEL BAY NEWS AND VIDEO - Two Mossel Bay girls have been included in the squad to attend an SA Rugby Junior Girls' high performance camp from 1 to 6 October.
The girls - Andonesia Kietas and Edwaline Dickson - are two of four South Western Districts girls chosen for the camp in Paarl for U18s and U20s.
Kietas and Dickson are both U18.
The girls are tremendously excited that they will be coming home from the camp with their Springbok kit.
They both said they thank their coach for the role he has played in their success.
The other two SWD girls chosen are Sihle Bokoda and Antoneca Hannies of George.
Having four girls selected from SWD is no mean feat considering other regional teams such as the Limpopo Blue Bulls, Free State, Golden Lions, Griffons and Leopards have had only one player selected for the high performance camp.
Kietas told the Mossel Bay Advertiser this week that it had always been her dream to play rugby.
"I told my mom I would wear the green and gold one day,'' she said. "Being chosen for the camp is a blessing from God," the bubbly 17-year-old, who has been playing rugby for only a year, said.
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She plays tight head prop (number 3). This Sao Bras learner is in the hostel at the school because she lives in Brandwag.
Dickson, who was player of the tournament at a national girls' rugby competition held in Welkom during the July school holiday, has been under instruction of SWD girls' rugby coach Stanley Kama.
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Kama says: "I started coaching Edwaline in 2016. She played well, as if she had been playing for a long time."
Dickson has also only been playing rugby for a short while - about 15 months.
"She was playing at flyhalf, but was changed to number 8 because we realised she wanted to handle the ball more, rather than set the ball up for others.
"She's good. She's tough and has a great sense of humour."
Regarding Kietas, Kama says: "She's really disciplined and passionate about rugby."
He is currently doing fitness training with the two girls in preparation for the high performance camp.
"They need to be super fit." They train at the D'Almeida sports fields currently.
South African Rugby Union Youth Training Centre (YTC) head coach Riaan Lamely said: "All four of the SWD girls who will attend the junior high performance camp are U18s.
"And they will actually receive their national colours but they cannot be called Springboks yet because they are not yet 18 and they cannot play overseas yet."
Lameley said regarding Kietas and Dickson: "I have been working with them at provincial (SWD) level. The girls can become full Springboks when they turn 18 - then they become seniors. They certainly do have the potential for this.
Speaking about the tremendous growth in interest in schoolgirl rugby, Lameley said: "In SWD more than 600 girls are taking part
in rugby currently. When we started in January last year, it was with only 50 girls spread over the U18 and U16 age groups, so junior girls' rugby has really grown fast."
ARTICLE: LINDA SPARG, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER JOURNALIST
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