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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THREE of the four South African coaches for this year’s AMG Global Junior Rugby Coaching Festival which gets underway at Falcon College on Friday morning arrived in the country on Thursday.
Former Springboks prop Marius Hurter, Currie Cup stalwart Jacques Botes and renowned schoolboy rugby coach Greg Miller landed at the Joshua Mqabuko International Airport at midday on Thursday. Ex Springboks hooker, Delarey Du Preez missed his flight from East London and will now arrive in Zimbabwe today.
The coaches will from this morning until Sunday impart their rugby knowledge to youngsters and their coaches drawn from school all over Zimbabwe in what will be the fourth edition of the AMG Global Junior Rugby Coaching fiesta.
Miller, making his third appearance at the Falcon College organised festival is eager to groom the next generation of Zimbabwean rugby players.
“If we can at least help some of the youngsters, if we can at least impart some knowledge, maybe inspire some of them become good people, good sportsmen then it will be a success for me. There is 270 odd youngsters, if we can mould some lives, I will be really happy that’s what I am looking forward to,”’ Miller said.
Botes, an acquaintance of Zimbabwe born Springboks prop Tendai Beast Mtawarira who has now played over 150 Super Rugby matches for the Sharks wants to play a part in finding the next player in the quality of Mtawarira. He also wants to impart some of the skill which saw him become the most capped player in the Currie Cup.
“A good friend of mine Beast just recently celebrated his South Africa record for over 150 Super Rugby games, if there is one way we can plant the seed, inspire a young boy to keep playing rugby and become the next Zimbabwean Beast, it would be a positive for us,’’ he said.
Hurter, a member of the 1995 Rugby World Cup winning Springboks has been coming to Zimbabwe for three consecutive years. The former Boks prop is looking forward to seeing the youngsters enjoy the coaching sessions while they learn more about the game.
“It’s about rugby as well but it’s also about creating friendships and enjoy moments, learning stuff about life.”
The four South Africans will work with local coaches, Brendan Dawson and Schalk Ferreira.
As has been the norm over the years, the youngsters will get coaching in the morning before they play coached matches in the afternoon. What makes the festival unique is that the coaches are actually allowed on the field of play while the matches are going on to give direction to their players.
A formal dinner will be held in Bulawayo on Friday evening for coaches and other officials where Falcon College headmaster Reginald Querl, a representative from AMG Global as well as the Zimbabwe Rugby Union vice president south Martin Shone will be some of the speakers.
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