Vodacom Bulletjie rugby hits Loftus Versfeld on Saturday
All roads lead to Loftus Versfeld for thousands of avid Vodacom Bulletjie rugby players this weekend when the next instalment of this hugely popular and successful rugby day comes to the home of Vodacom Blue Bulls rugby again.
A fun day with over 600 teams and close to 6000 players is guaranteed when the next generation of future stars from more than 90 schools will run, tag and score, much to the delight of team mates, coaches and parents.
There will be an early 08h00 start for the teams, with the last of the matches to be played at 17h30.
Thanks to the efforts of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union the sport’s reach has grown exponentially and kids from the development clusters will be participating en masse.
Vodacom Bulletjie rugby is the biggest mini-rugby project in South Africa and the first initiative of its kind in the country.
The day once again will try to succeed in its primary goal of instilling sportsmanship, a love for rugby and the Vodacom Bulls franchise.
In Vodacom Bulletjie Rugby players do not tackle each other; instead each player wears a ribbon on either side. When the ball carrier’s ribbon is ‘ripped’, they must pass the ball to a team mate within three seconds.
After passing the ball, the player must re-attach the ribbon to their belt before taking part in the game again. The player executing the ‘rip’ shouts “rip”, and holds the ribbon up in the air. The referee will then acknowledge the ‘rip’.
The player who performed the ‘rip’ must hand the ribbon back to the opponent immediately – only thereafter may the player participate in play.
Although the parents’ vocal antics on the side of the field add to the festivities they are reminded that Vodacom Bulletjie rugby is not about competition but rather about the principles that rugby teaches everyone that plays the game.
The mutual respect and the honesty it teaches those who are involved with the game lies at the heart of what makes the Vodacom Bulletjie Rugby Day such a memorable occasion.
Since the launch of Vodacom Bulletjie rugby back in 1993 it has grown into the biggest mini-rugby project in South Africa and the first initiative of its kind in the country.
The day is a massive logistical operation as organisers scramble and oversee the smooth running of games for the Under-6 teams, U-7 teams and U-8 teams.
As jy na my post kyk kan jy sien dat ek dit as n grappie skryf - lol.
Ek is wit maar het baie en ek se baie anderskleurige vriende. Ek het in Gugulethu en Khayelitsha as polisieman gewerk. Ek is op die hande gedra deur my anderskleurige kollegas want ek het hulle met respek behandel. Ek het ook nou die Comrades voltooi en met vele bruin en swart atlete gemeng. Doen dit omtrent elke dag met ons oefeninge.
Ek sal mal word as ek nie af en toe n grappie maak in die huidige opset nie want wat nou aan die gang is, is ook nie gesond nie.
Eerder die wit laatie komplementeer omdat hy n driedruk as wat ek se ons Blou Bul spelers is k@k soos party mense se.
Maar nou ja, wonder of jy ook vir hulle aangevat het oor swak smaak.
Se maar net ou bulletjie