The word IMPACT is spoken a lot about in our game.

Whilst the Barbarian way is to seek out space and avoid those collisions on the field, off the field is where our biggest IMPACT is felt.

Tuesday was a special day in Cape Town for the Barbarians squad preparing for Saturday’s clash against the Springboks.

Why it was special, was the fifty children in attendance from the Atlas Foundation.

The Foundation, set-up in 2019, is a schools programme to empower the youth in the country, a movement to combat crime, inequality, and discrimination to help young people thrive.

The children watched, and sung, the Barbarians players go through their session on the field, before jumping down from the stands for their own session with the squad.

A few ice-breaker games and songs (whilst there was full participation by the squad, rhythm and timing was optional) kicked off the session before the everyone picked up a ball and spent time connecting through a fun training session.

The smiles on the faces of all showed its worth.  The Barbarians values shining through as our players enjoyed every minute as much as the children.

“It was a dream come true for many of our youngsters yesterday to be coached by these legends of the game. We well know the impact of affirmation and giving these children every reason to hope, aspire and believe in their futures,” said Atlas Executive Director Sue Anderson.

“We would like to sincerely thank the Barbarians family for all their support. The excitement of the day was like no other and we greatly appreciate the honour and significance of this commitment from the Barbarians.

“Atlas operates with the guiding mission of using rugby as a vehicle to deliver health, education, and well-being outcomes for young people in underserved communities and supporting The Atlas Foundation’s wider, global commitment to social change through sport. And how they love their rugby!

“These young boys and girls are from our Atlas project in Masiphumelele and Ocean View, two bordering communities in Cape Town. Although culturally very different, both experience high crime rates and gangs, often having a knock-on effect on the children in the communities, with poor school attendance, behaviour and attainment.

“This is a day we will all remember for a very long time”