OMs, Warriors set up final date

DEFENDING Champions Matabeleland Warriors and Old Miltonians (OMs) will, once again, face off in the final of the 2024 Bulawayo Metropolitan Rugby Football Board (BMRFB) Archer Clothing rugby league after winning their semi-final encounters at Hartsfield Rugby Grounds on Saturday.

Both sides made light work of their semi-final opponents to set up a tantalising final for rugby fans. Warriors beat Western Suburbs Panthers 43-10 while OMs walloped Highlanders 60-3.

Bragging rights will be at stake in the final, which will be the third meeting between the two powerhouses of local rugby.

In the round-robin stage of the league, only four points separated Warriors and Oms, with the latter winning 16-12 before the defending champions proved their mettle in the return fixture, winning 22-15.

At the end of their game against Panthers on Saturday, Warriors head coach Aubrey Dube said they rested most of their senior players to save their energy for the final.

Dube was impressed by how his young squad fared, saying it’s a good sign of the depth they have. “We are happy to march into the finals. We played our second-string side and rested our main guys for the final. We used mainly our Under-20s and we are happy with the result, and I am extremely proud of the boys.

“Hard luck to Panthers, but we have to make sure we defend our title. The OMs final will be a tough one, but I’m sure we will come out tops. We’ve got most of our players back so we will be at full strength next weekend, and people will see the might of the Warriors,” said Dube.

OMs coach Victor Chiwara believes the pressure lies with Warriors as the defending champions. “I think we played well in patches, in the first-half we controlled the game much better and our structure worked well. In the second-half, we fell away a little bit, but we made lots of changes because the game was in the bag so we are looking forward to the big game next week.

“Any good team will always want to win so there’s always that pressure to win. We have worked hard this year and we really want to cap it off with a win, but I think there’s more pressure on Warriors because they are the defending champions. We are the little horse that’s growing and we are looking forward to the game,” said Chiwara.

Warriors won the league last year after an impressive invincible run. Despite losing their semi-final matches, it was not the end of the road for Panthers and Highlanders, who also have a score to settle against each other.

The two teams will face off in a third-place play-off for the bronze. In the two matches they played against each other this season, both have won one game and the winner next weekend will enjoy bragging rights.

For Highlanders head coach, Silethokuhle “Slater” Ndlovu, pride is at stake and he said they will make sure that they walk away as the winners.

“We lost but it’s not the end of the road. We are still building and I promise fireworks next week. There’s definitely going to be fireworks. We did not defend well in today’s (yesterday) game, because of no training. We don’t have a game plan, we have never worked on defence patterns and other things because of the numbers at our training sessions.

“But I can assure you, we will take it to another level. I can personally assure you that I will score a try. We will make sure we win that game,” said Ndlovu.

His opposite number George “Rollo” Mukorera said poor tackling against Warriors cost them the game but is confident that they will end their season on a high note with victory against old foes, Highlanders.

“Poor tackling cost us the game, we need to go back to the drawing board and try to teach these guys how to tackle. But, in the second-half we played very well, there are one or two things that we need to work on, especially on finishing.

“We had new players, and tried our level best with our smallest pack, but it was not to be. “I think against Highlanders we will play the ball on the back line, as this has been our strength. I think Highlanders’ strength is in the forwards. They have bigger boys, but we will try to be more mobile with our youngsters and give them a good run for the money,” said Mukorera.

Saturday’s action followed a week-long break which players were given to recuperate after the conclusion of the round-robin stage.

Next weekend’s final and third-place playoff matches will draw down the curtain to 11 weeks of action at the city’s ceremonial home of rugby, Hartsfield Rugby Grounds. — @brandon_malvin