Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema-Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Harare Rugby Province is set to return to their old module in the way they run their Under-20 league.
This follows an urgent plea for time by the league sponsor Paramount Garments prior to the official start of the competition which kicked off this past weekend.
Nyasha Muchochomi is the new chairperson of the League Steering Committee (LSC), the organ tasked with running the day-to-day operations of the Harare Under-20 Rugby League.
The Zimpapers Sports Hub yesterday caught up with the LSC chairperson during which he opened up on sponsorship issue and some of the new innovations that have been introduced.
“I think it was a fantastic opening weekend we had,” said Muchochomi.
“We had a good crowd and a lot of enthusiasm from both the players and fans, which goes a long way to show how we had missed some rugby action.”
“The crowd at Old Georgians Sports Club was quite sizeable when gates opened ,and almost full to capacity by the time we had our last game,” he said.
In the women’s division, there are victories for FS Raiderz, Harare Sports Club and Zimbiri Titans who immediately shot to the top of the log standings.
FS Raiderz beat Golden Cubs 99-3 while Harare Sports Club had a walkover victory over hosts Old Georgians.
Zimbiru Titans edged Harare lions 38-17.
In the Division One men’s category, Marondera Talons shocked Harare Sports Club 31-7, while reigning champions Pitbulls made light work of Old Georgians 50-29.
The Zambezi Steelers blew away the Chitungwiza Crusaders 48-0.
Among the new additions to the Harare Under-20 Rugby League are the introduction of a Under-19 category and the establishment of the Championship Cup.
Both are mostly development initiatives with the Challenge Cup mostly catering for teams and clubs outside Harare.
“Yes, the key word here is development,” said Muchochomi.
“Every top rugby nation in the world have functioning age-group leagues, and the establishment of the Under-19 competition is us following the trend.
“The goal here is to have an active league at both Under 19 and 20, so as to give our coaches Shaun De Souza and Piet Benade, the Junior and Sables’ coaches, a platform for their selection.
“The Championship Cup will mostly comprise clubs and teams outside Harare, giving them a platform to come and play competitive rugby.
“Given the financial costs that come with playing rugby on a weekly basis, we have decided to have them play every two weeks.
“This will give them time to run around and find money to fund the costs that come with every matchday.
“We already have teams from places like Mutare, Chinhoyi and Chitungwiza.
“We also received a formal request from Bulawayo to join the league. The province already have many players from different clubs playing in the league. The province forming their own club seems to be the logical next step, and they may join us as soon as next sea-son,” he said. Despite the high turn out and competitive rugby on display during the opening weekend of the league, sponsor-ship issue has emerged as the biggest talking point.
“Paramount Garments have not severed their ties with us, I wish to make that clear,” said Muchochomi.
“They just asked for more time and, unfortunately, time is something we do not have. We have a very short window period for the league, and any delays would have interfered with the school’s rug-by season and affected our already stained officiating staff.
“We considered a lot of things, even delaying the start of the season, and decided to revert to our old system.
“For many years, the local rugby leagues have gone about their business without a sponsor, often relying on teams and subscriptions to cater for the operating expenses.
“We then decided to revert to this system, after which we will sit down with our title sponsor to either establish a new Under-20 competition or resume our agreement next season,” he said.
