The first national-style 15-a-side high school rugby festival for girls in South Africa will take place at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Pieter Booysen Sports Park on 26 September 2026, with Nashua confirmed as title sponsor.
New pathway for girls’ rugby
The event, billed as the Nashua Green Elly Rugby Festival, is the first-ever under-18, 15-player festival for schoolgirls in the country. Ten teams from around KwaZulu-Natal will converge on Pietermaritzburg for a single-day showcase in which each side will play two matches. A selected panel will name a 15-player All Stars team from the participants.
“Our inaugural Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School Rugby Festival is more than a sporting event. It is an initiative to build the future of women’s rugby in South Africa,” Matthew Marwick said, adding that Nashua’s involvement underlines a shared vision of empowerment through sport.
The festival is being positioned as a springboard: organisers want to create a sustainable annual celebration that highlights emerging talent, gives school coaches a stronger scouting environment and builds more competitive opportunities for girls at a critical age for development.
Selectors and support
A panel of qualified selectors will oversee the identification of the All Stars XV. The names confirmed by organisers are:
- Mary Zulu — Springbok Women fly-half and SA Women ‘A’ captain;
- Matthew Marwick — principal of Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School;
- Zee Ntombela — senior sports officer, University of KwaZulu-Natal and second vice-president, KwaZulu-Natal Sport Confederation;
- Dyllan Kroon — Chairperson, Midlands Rugby Union.
Nashua’s regional sales director, JP du Toit, said the company sees the festival as more than a community event and framed the sponsorship in terms of legacy work around education, empowerment and youth development.
Event details and immediate aims
Organisers emphasise that the festival will be a one-day competition designed to give participants meaningful game time and exposure. The confirmed format — two matches per team — is intended to balance competitive opportunity with the practicalities of a single-day festival.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | 26 September 2026 |
| Venue | Pieter Booysen Sports Park, University of KwaZulu-Natal |
| Teams | 10 KwaZulu-Natal high school sides |
| Match format | Each team plays two matches; a 15-player All Stars will be selected |
While the festival is regionally based in KwaZulu-Natal for this inaugural year, the organisers have framed it as the start of an annual event that could grow into a broader national talent showcase for schoolgirls if the pilot is successful.
Why it matters
South African women’s rugby has seen growth at provincial and senior national levels in recent seasons, but pathways at school level remain uneven. A dedicated 15-a-side festival for under-18 girls plugs a glaring gap: most development tournaments at that age have been limited to sevens or smaller formats.
By establishing a competitive opportunity in the traditional 15-player code, the Nashua Green Elly Festival gives coaches and selectors a chance to assess players in a game environment that mirrors provincial and national fixtures. That alignment can help young players transition more smoothly into club, provincial and national structures.
For the players arriving in Pietermaritzburg, the event will be both a test and a stage — an opportunity to stake a claim for higher honours while representing their schools in a competition meant to spotlight talent rather than simply produce winners.
Organisers say the festival celebrates the long-standing “Green Elly” emblem of Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School — a symbol of resilience and community ties in the Msunduzi and Umgungundlovu region — and aims to leave a legacy of increased opportunity for girls and young women in the sport.
