adminMehluli Sibanda Acting Sports Editor
THE biggest schools rugby festival in the world in terms of the number of teams involved, the Dairibord Schools Rugby Festival gets underway tomorrow and runs up to Saturday at Prince Edward High School in Harare.
Sebastian Garikai, the tournament director said all was in place for the successful staging of the week long schools rugby fiesta. He disclosed that 168 teams have entered the festival with 10 other teams ready to step in should the confirmed ones not pitch up.
Matches will take place at five venues scattered all over the school and at the neighbouring school, Allan Wilson. The fields which are going to be used at PE are Jubilee which is the main field, Avenues, Chapel and Rhodes.
“Everything is in place for the Dairibord Schools Rugby Festival, we have 168 teams taking part and 10 other teams on standby. Nothing has changed, the change is only in the title sponsor. We are going to choose the team of the tournament for both boys and girls,’’ said Garikai.
Dairibord Zimbabwe Limited this year assumed sponsorship of the schools rugby fiesta from Cotton Company of Zimbabwe who had bankrolled it since 1995. Cottco, however, remain a part sponsor of the schools rugby feast.
Garikai said some of the fixtures to look forward to during the tournament are the encounter between Falcon College and Lomagundi, PE’s clash with Saint Johns, Saint Georges’ duel with Churchill and the main clash on the last day of the festival which features PE who come up against last year’s Zimbabwe schools champions Peterhouse of Marondera.
On reports of bad behaviour by the spectators, which emanated last year, Garikai said they were going to conduct educational programmes aimed at educating spectators on good conduct.
Falcon College from Esigodini, the best rugby playing school in Matabeleland leads the contingent of schools from the region which includes Milton, Gifford, Plumtree, Bulawayo Select, Msiteli, Sobukhazi, Mzilikazi and Entumbane.
The Zimbabwe Rugby Union has taken full advantage of the festival with a number of activities lined up during the week of the schools rugby carnival. South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins who is also the International Rugby Board vice-president is arriving in the country tomorrow together with Springboks selector, Zimbabwe born Ian McIntosh. Besides attending the matches during their stay in Zimbabwe which is up to Thursday, Hoskins and McIntosh have agreed to speak at a Zimbabwe Sables fund-raising dinner to be held at a Harare hotel on Wednesday evening.
“On Wednesday 7 May, both Oregan Hoskins and Ian McIntosh have kindly agreed to speak at a fund-raising dinner for the Zimbabwe Sables, who will be preparing for Rugby World Cup qualifiers in Madagascar. Oregan Hoskins is also the vice-president of the International Rugby Board and Ian McIntosh, born in Zimbabwe, has over 20 years of coaching experience at the highest levels of South African Rugby, which makes for a very entertaining evening,’’ read a statement from ZRU.
The Sables head off to Madagascar at the end of next month for the crucial 2015 IRB Rugby World Cup qualifiers where they will play against Kenya, Namibia and Madagascar for a place in England next year. Funding has always been an issue for the Sables and the fund-raising dinner is expected to raise a substantial amount of money to fund their preparations for Madagascar.
According to the ZRU, McIntosh, a former Sables and Springboks coach will run a coach education course and also conduct a coaching programme with the Zimbabwe national Under-20 players as well as the Sables.
During the festival, a national rugby disciplinary workshop will be conducted through the Zimbabwe Rugby Referees Society by Mudiwa Mundawarara and Bongai Zamchiya. This, the ZRU says is to ensure that all the people involved in the game have the requisite accreditation from the union which will be renewed annually.
There will also be an anti-doping education programme to run throughout the week which is meant to enlighten the players and their coaches about the dangers of using prohibited substances in the sport. It is expected that random tests would be carried out on players by the national anti-doping agency throughout the festival.
Meanwhile, all National Rugby League matches that had been scheduled for Saturday 10 May have been called off since most of the referees who handle the NRL matches would be officiating at the schools rugby festival.
Online Reporter