adminNgoni Dapira Sports Correspondent
MINISTER of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Mandi Chimene, has called on Manicaland to rally behind its local sports franchises in the country’s topflight domestic leagues.
Chimene said this last Saturday during a pep talk with Mutare Sports Club rugby players before their second match against Old Johanians in the topflight National Rugby League.
She encouraged the local corporate sector to put its weight behind MSC and other local franchises such as Mountaineers (cricket) and Mutare City Rovers (soccer) that are representing the province in the country’s top tier leagues.
“I hear you are struggling with maintenance of the rugby field and sponsorship has not been easy in the past years. Our local business community should be seen supporting you. You are the team that represents our province. In all the sports disciplines we compete in at national level, it is usually just one team, so why should we fail to support just one team as a province. Sport development is very important. We need our own players to be seen competing in regional and international tournaments putting our country in the limelight and making us proud. But charity should begin at home and at the grassroots for us to develop our national sports,” she said.
Despite the encouraging pep talk, it nevertheless turned out to be another bad day in the office for the Mutare Shumbas that narrowly lost 34-29 to the visiting OJS side.
The Shumbas failed to gain momentum early after ending the first half 17-7, trailing behind the visitors.
The side only got picked up momentum in the second half, but it was a bit too late.
School-boy blunders and failing to play basic rugby were some of the reasons cited by critics to have cost the side dearly on some notable opportunities where they could have scored tries and overturned the game.
OJS team manager, Roger Woodward, said he was happy to win away. He said MSC has always been a problematic side to play against, especially away.
He, however, praised the Mutare business community for supporting the Shumbas that got a timely endorsement this season from Mega Market.
“In Harare several clubs are struggling with players chipping in to help the clubs to fulfill away fixtures. It is encouraging to see that MSC now has an official sponsor and back-up sponsors,” said Woodward.
Tomorrow (Saturday), the Mutare franchise will host defending champions, Harare Sports Club in a potential thriller.
The match will kick off at 3pm.
Online Reporter