Andrew
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
Harare Sports Club ………………(31) 66
Mutare Select …………………….. 3
IT was pomp and fanfare during the opening day of the Nedbank Rugby Challenge Cup at Old Georgians Sports Club yesterday as the crowd celebrated the return of domestic club rugby after a two-year hiatus.
The four-week tournament signalled the end of the Covid-19 induced break on the sport.
And not even Bulawayo Select’s no-show could ruin the day, as places in the Sables’ squad are up for grabs for those that will prove their worth to national selectors.
An occasion as special as this requires something of equal value, and coach Daniel Hondo’s Harare Sports Club answered that call.
The Harare giants powered over a Mutare select side, with Taddy Whata turning back the clock and putting up a performance worthy of at least some consideration for a late call-up.
The Sportivo full-back played like a man possessed, chipping in with a try and eight conversions during what turned to be a dominant display.
Experience proved to be the difference, as Harare Sports Club have been together as a team longer compared to their opponents, who had only trained as a team for three days prior to yesterday’s encounter.
Still, one cannot take away anything from the swagger with which Sports Club played.
Prop Great Gombera, flanks Tevin Ganya and Kudakwashe Nyamakura, Hilton Mudariki, Clive Mandiya and substitute Russell Dodo scored a try apiece.
Sportivo centre Kudzai Mashawi chipped in with his own brace, while Mutare Select got their only points from a penalty by scrumhalf Liberty Mugabe.
As was the general theme of the day, both coaches — Hondo and Charles Bezuienhout — were all smiles after the game as they were happy just to see their charges get a run on the park.
“We came and just wanted to play with the ball,” said Hondo.
“We haven’t done that in about two seasons, and so to come out to play some rugby and win is good.
“Scoring 66 points in the opening game shows you that you are doing something, and the hope is that we can continue to do so for the rest of the tournament,” he said.
Bezuienhout was also happy to end a long spell of inactivity.
He remains hopeful that his select side will get better with time.
“I think my guys were a bit star-gazed at the start and never really recovered.
“They saw Harare Sports Club and some national team players and then nerves kicked in.
“What let us down was the defence, as you saw we missed a lot of tackles throughout the game,” he said.
“We had our moments, but the defensive end was not up to scratch.
“Still, this is a very young team and we were together for like a week before we had to travel here.
“Hopefully, we can go back, train some more and work on weaknesses, after which we will start gelling as a team.”
Not to be outdone, both Old Hararians and Old Georgians also came out of their opening encounters unscathed.
OH beat Southern City 58-0, while OGs saw off a Harare Select side 42-8.
The Nedbank Challenge Cup is doubling as trials for the Goshawks side expected to travel to South Africa for the Currie Cup.
Zimbabwe, going under the Goshawks’ banner, will be in South Africa for six weeks, and the Sables will use the second-tier Currie Cup tournament as preparations for the 2022 Africa Cup.
The winner of the Africa Cup to be staged in France will automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup, while the runners-up would have to undergo another final round of qualifiers — the Repechage.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Nedbank Challenge Cup yesterday, Sables’ team manager Jason Maritz shed a little light on how the trials will go.
Maritz has been running around to ensure the Nedbank Challenge Cup goes smoothly.
“Firstly, it’s good to be back,” said Maritz.
“It’s been two to three years of no club rugby, and it was of paramount importance that we put this tournament together so that the guys get a chance to play.
“We, the Sables’ technical team, made up of about five or six people, and we also have the coach and selectors here looking at the players.
“There are all monitoring from a sideline point of view. We also have our tracking company here, Athstat, and we have put tracking devices on certain players we have been talking to and looking at. The information gathered will give us a better understanding of each of these players’ strengths and weakness.”
Results:
Harare Sports Club 66-3 Manicaland Select
Old Hararians 58-0 Southern City
Old Georgians 42-8 Harare Select
Online Reporter