SACS, in conjunction with Springbok legend and SACS Old Boy, Percy Montgomery, will launch the SACS Percy Montgomery Rugby Foundation at SACS on March 5. Invitations will be formalised mid February.
One of the aims of the Foundation is to produce great SACS Rugby players and to also ensure an opportunity for a better schooling and life education for the individual.
The ethos of the School, both Junior and High, is non-negotiable and the Foundation will aim to improve the standard of Rugby education that the player receives, while also providing the funding for Rugby bursaries.
The uniqueness of the Foundation is that the Junior and High Schools will be actively involved in an attempt to ensure the boy who starts in Grade 1 wants to make SACS his school of choice to Grade 12.
SACS Junior Headmaster, Francois Nel and SACS High Headmaster, Ken Ball, will serve on the Trust that includes SACS parents Leon de Villiers, Mike de Villiers, Mark Keohane along with Percy Montgomery. Kevin Ferguson, an independent, will act as Chairman.
Montgomery, who attended the Junior and High School as a boarder, and played 102 Tests for the Springboks, including an influential role in the 2007 World Cup final victory, said: 'It is a fantastic initiative and the potential is there to grow SACS Rugby and positively influence the lives of individuals. SACS has always been the closest thing to me because it is where I spent the greatest part of my upbringing and now that I am finally settled in Cape Town I can give of my time and commitment. I am delighted to be part of the Foundation and appeal to all parents (and Old Boys) with an interest in Rugby to embrace the Foundation and give it the necessary support. SACS leads the way in so many aspects and, as a former Rugby player at the School, I know that, with the right attitude and funding, SACS can also be a leader in South African Schools' Rugby.'
The Junior and High School will, in March, combine to host the Jake White Winning Way Coaching Courses that will feature coaches from around the country. Jake will partner former Wallabies coach and Springbok World Cup consultant, Eddie Jones, in the presentation of the five-day course, with specialists like former Pumas coach Marcello Loffredo, scrum specialist Balie Swart, the world's most capped international referee Jonathan Kaplan and Montgomery among the experts involved in the course.
Already, the Foundation has ensured that the core of SACS Junior and High School Rugby coaches will attend the course.
Highbury Safika Media, the publishing house which produces among others SA Rugby Magazine, Business Day Sport Monthly, Foschini Sports Club and Keo.co.za, has aligned itself as a partner to the Foundation and already committed a first year spend of R25 000 to facilitate the bursary of one newcomer to SACS.
Chairman of the Foundation and CEO of HSM Kevin Ferguson said: 'The appeal to get involved is because of the tradition of the School, the quality of the headmasters and passion among the parents and pupils. We also believe that there is no greater gift than an education and, if we can make a difference with shaping one individual's life, then the Foundation has been successful. I look forward to the challenge and to engaging with the parents and Old Boys of SACS as we ensure the future of the SACS Rugby jersey. This is unashamedly a Rugby Foundation, but the benefit to the individual and School goes beyond Rugby.'
All enquiries relating to the Foundation can be forwarded to Kara Ross at .
