RWC Trophy Blitz hits Bloem in historic test week

Five members of the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup squad – including local heroes Ox Nche and Cobus Reinach – will take the Webb Ellis Cup on its fourth stop of the RWC Trophy Blitz, at Loch Logan Mall in Bloemfontein on Thursday.

Nche and Reinach, both of whom finished their schooling in the Free State capital at HTS Louis Botha and Grey College respectively, will be joined by Lukhanyo Am, Grant Williams and Trevor Nyakane at the mall, from 1pm until 2pm.

“This is our fourth stop of the RWC Trophy Blitz and it’s great to take the Webb Ellis Cup to Bloemfontein during an historic week, with the Boks facing Portugal at a sold-out Toyota Stadium on Saturday,” said Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby.

“The Free State is an important piece in the local rugby landscape, not only because of all the quality players who hail from the province, but they are also the current holders of the Carling Currie Cup.

“We have a big support base here and although it was not possible to visit Bloemfontein on the Trophy Tour last year, we’re excited for tomorrow’s opportunity at the Mall.

“We saw on the first three stops on the Trophy Blitz, in Gqeberha, George and Kimberley, as well as at the two recent tests against Ireland in Pretoria and Durban, how passionate South Africans are about the Boks and rugby in general, and for that, we are very grateful.

Earlier on Thursday, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Thomas du Toit and Makazole Mapimpi will attend a Get Into Rugby (GIR) Festival with 200 children – aged from six to nine from 10 different schools – at the Mangaung Oval.

Get into Rugby is a nationwide grassroots rugby initiative operated under the auspices of SA Rugby and is a brainchild of World Rugby in its strategy of growing the game globally through encouraging players of all ages to try, play and stay in rugby.