adminTHE annual Dairibord Schools Rugby Festival got off to a rather slow but rather exciting start at Prince Edward School in Harare yesterday with quite a good turn-out for a Sunday school show. Masvingo side Victoria High, who last year lost to Chipadze in one of their games, showed huge improvement yesterday with a 34-0 thumping of St John’s High School while Mount Pleasant got off to a 33-0 drubbing of rivals Oriel Boys.
With the Wednesday games moved to yesterday in a bid to accommodate the ongoing World Rugby Under-20 Trophy, non-tradition rugby-playing schools got the games under way and Harare Sports Club winger Tafadzwa Mhende feels teams have already shown signs of improvement.
“I was largely impressed by Kwekwe despite their loss at the hands of Eaglesvale’s second-string side but they showed some quality in their ranks. Their level of ball skills has actually improved from how they played last year.
“Victoria High were also impressive. This is a side that lost to Chipadze last year and this year they get off to a good start. I think these are early signs that we’re going to have a more exciting and much improved festival in terms of skill and quality mostly by the non-traditional rugby-playing schools,” said Mhende.
Girls schools have also become a part of the festival that at one stage was exclusive to boys.
“It’s good to note that girls have also been able to raise teams for XVs rugby but what I’ve noticed about the girls schools is that their standard of play seems to have gone stagnant, they really haven’t improved much.
“It looks like the coaches are now comfortable with the standard or bar they’ve set for themselves but there’s a huge room for improvement,” said Mhende.
Girls High School got the better of Royal College with a 24-10 win while giants Vainona were 26-10 winners over Goromonzi.
“Vainona are known to be the giants of schools rugby in their section but I wasn’t happy with the way they played today against Goromonzi. They were a pale reflection of what they’re capable of doing.
“At the same time the so-called small teams have shown some improvement as well in the girls section because Goromonzi were quite good against Vainona. They showed some phase play and even in attack,” added Mhende.
Results
Mt Pleasent 33, Oriel 0; St Johns Emerald 0, Victoria High 34; Sobukazi 0, Lord Malvern 62; Herentals 3, Trust Academy 15; Kwekwe High 5, Eaglesvale II 29; Girls High 24, Royal College 10; Goromonzi 10, Vainona 26; PE II 41, High Achievers 3 – sportszone.co.zw
Online Reporter