adminGeophrey Sifani Sports Reporter
MATABELELAND Rugby Football Board (MRFB) chairman Theo Weale has hailed the return of rugby to the Midlands following the successful hosting of the Gweru leg of the Bulawayo Rugby Cup on Saturday. The tournament featured Old Miltonians, Matabeleland Panthers, Matabeleland Warriors, Kadoma, Kwekwe, Police Bulldogs, Midlands State University, Thornhill Airforce and Gweru.
Weale said although the event faced teething problems that resulted in games starting at almost midday, a sizeable crowd gathered to watch the nine sides battling each other. “We’re happy with the crowd that attended the tournament because our aim is to take the game to the people,” said Weale.
“We’re also encouraged by the way Kwekwe and Kadoma are taking up the game as they fielded teams for the first time and they put up a good fight. We hope they continue with their good performances and take part in more competitions to get more exposure. We would also like to thank the Zimbabwe Rugby Union vice-president Nyarirai Sibanda for gracing our tournament as well as Milton High School for availing their bus to transport Bulawayo players to Gweru. This shows that we’re going somewhere,” he said.
The last leg of the tournament will be held at Hartsfield Ground in Bulawayo on September 26 when the semi-finals and final will be held. Weale said they expected a huge crowd to attend as the city had been starved of rugby for a long time.
The MRFB are also hoping their efforts result in the resumption of a competitive rugby league with teams from Bulawayo, Gweru, Masvingo, Kadoma and Kwekwe to ensure that players from the southern region of the country can also be considered for selection into the Sables. Since no rugby was being played in the southern region, the Sables have been made up of players from the Harare League only and a few foreign-based ones. All Bulawayo teams have been dormant since the ZRU discontinued the National Rugby League citing lack of funding.
Results: Thornhill Airforce 0-22 Police Bulldogs, Gweru 0-10 Panthers, Old Miltonians 12-0 Kadoma, Matabeleland Warriors 19-0 Kwekwe, Midlands State University 14-0 Thornhill Airforce, Kadoma 41-5 Panthers, Police Bulldogs 17-7 Kwekwe, MSU 7-12 Old Miltonians.
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