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Egham Hollowegians introduce rugby to Rwandan students
Egham Hollowegians player and teacher Tom Robertson recently travelled to Rwanda and introduced a group of school children to rugby.
Robertson was among 34 students, staff, and friends from Sandhurst School who visited Rwanda during the February half-term to work with SURF (Survivors Fund).
The school has partnered with SURF since 2006 through the Reaching Rwanda project, which provides funding for housing and education in communities across the country.
Most recently, the project supported the construction of Philly’s Place, a school in Ntarama, just outside Kigali, which officially opened in the summer of 2024.
As part of the visit, the group led lessons and activities at Philly’s Place and Group Scholaire Kampanga, a school in the northern part of the country.
Among those activities, Robertson introduced students to the basics of touch rugby. To enhance the sessions, Egham Hollowegians donated rugby balls, ensuring the schools could continue playing long after the trip ended.
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Robertson said: “I led the session with some help from the locals for translation. The session involved a lot of me shouting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in their language, and we covered some basics, like passing the ball backward. But I didn’t even attempt to coach things like offside!”
Despite the language barriers, the sessions were a tremendous success. When the group returned to Philly’s Place later in the week, students were already back on the pitch, playing and enjoying rugby.
Robertson added: “It was a real bonding experience. Rules aside, once we got across the basics, it was something we could all play together. Rugby was like a universal language. Whether it was exactly rugby or not, it was about playing a game together, and everyone had a smile on their face. It was great!”
In addition to the rugby balls, the club also donated training shirts to members of the local community, providing much-needed support while spreading the Egham Hollowegians name internationally.
Those who received the shirts wore them with pride, and the club gained some enthusiastic new supporters from around the world.
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