Old Mutual rugby tournament on cards

Sport
THE Old Mutual Rugby Community Cup is scheduled for some time this month with officials in the sport saying the National Association of Secondary School Heads (Nash) has played a huge role in the development of players.

THE Old Mutual Rugby Community Cup is scheduled for some time this month with officials in the sport saying the National Association of Secondary School Heads (Nash) has played a huge role in the development of players.

MAMELO NKOMO SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

The community cup is a developmental tournament in which players from schools in the western suburbs compete to be selected for national team duty.

George Mukorera the provincial development officer said “I am quite happy with the Nash  in terms of supporting rugby. They partnered with us and this will take rugby to the next level.  This is a stepping stone for rugby  development in our country. ”

The community cup will mark the beginning of developmental tournaments lined up this year  with efforts to promote girls to take up the sport.

Mukorera said they were hoping to have at least 10 schools representing girls and 16 schools representing boys in the cup.

For the girls the target is Under-14 and U-16 and for boys Under-14, U-16 and U-18.

The schools involved in the girls’ tournament are Montrose, Townsend, Northlea, St Columba’s, St Bernards, Amhlophe, Entumbane, Sobukhazi and Mzilikazi High schools.

Topless Churchill High rugby players perform a haka after beating LKC College of Botswana during last year’s Dairibord Rugby Festival
Topless Churchill High rugby players perform a haka after beating LKC College of Botswana during last year’s Dairibord Rugby Festival

Boys’ schools taking part will be Entumbane, Sizane, Msitheli, Sobukhazi, St Columba’s, Nkulumane, Northlea, Luveve and Sizane High schools.

Mukorera said they will also host the Fawcett Tag Rugby in February and March.

Tag rugby was established in Bulawayo in 2011.

Schools which will partake in the tag rugby tournament would mostly be from the western suburbs and some from low-density suburbs.

The PowerSales annual event is the biggest festival expected this year. It will be held on Good Friday with teams coming from Harare and Botswana.

Mukorera described this event as a huge one for Matabeleland Rugby Football Board. He said teams will be taking part in the Dairibord Festival that will run for a week in Harare end of April. Milton, Gifford and Plumtree High schools, western suburbs schools select and Bulawayo select would be expected to participate.

Matabeleland interprovincial trials will be held in May while the last tournament will be the national girls’ rugby tournament which will be hosted in August.

Last year four teams from Bulawayo qualified for the finals namely Msitheli, Amhlophe, Sobukhazi and Northlea and from Harare there was Vinona and Girls’ High.

Vainona came ahead of Girls’ High while Msitheli was in third position. Amhlophe finished fourth, followed by Sobukhazi.