adminSports Reporter
THE Naph national ball games kicked off at different venues around Bulawayo yesterday with coaches lamenting the use of incompetent referees in rugby. Rugby was introduced for the first time in this year’s games. Naph head in charge of rugby in Mashonaland East Thomas Tarwireyi admitted that they had teething problems in the sport.
“Rugby is still a new game to Naph and we’re still facing challenges. We hope to learn from the mistakes being made in these first games. We’re appealing to the Zimbabwe Rugby Union to teach us about the game,” said Tarwireyi.
Fans and coaches had complained that referees were clueless, spoiling the debut of rugby at the games.
“These referees being used here don’t even know the game. In rugby you can only end the match once the ball has gone out or when play has stopped. During one of the games, the referee blew the whistle to end the game while a player was under the posts going to score a try. I was shocked by such shocking officiating,” said one coach.
In netball, Bulawayo cruised to the semi-finals where they were joined by Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Manicaland.
In the girls’ football, Bulawayo will face Harare in the final to be played tomorrow. The boys’ semi-finals will be played tomorrow, with Mashonaland facing Masvingo and Manicaland playing against Mashonaland East at White City Stadium.
Online Reporter