Schools Barbarians tour organisers upbeat

schools side will be touring Zimbabwe from tomorrow.
Edwin Doran Sports Tours general manager Ian Barton believes the scheduled Zimbabwe tour by the Independent British Schools’ Barbarians side will give the international community confidence in Zimbabwe.
Since the eruption of the political difference between Harare and London at the turn of the millennium, there has never been a British Barbarians side coming to play rugby in Zimbabwe.
The last time Zimbabwe hosted a British side was in 1998 and since then there has not been any of their teams willing to play here until a deal for the renewal of the tour.
Most of the European sports sides have also not been willing to tour Zimbabwe over misplaced security fears and these included the English cricket side and maybe the tour by the British schools will be one of the turning points.
The Australian cricket side has also agreed to tour Zimbabwe and are expected in the country in July for a triangular series that also includes South Africa. Edwin Doran Sports Tours were also believed to be responsible for organising most of the British schools tours to Zimbabwe before the turn of the millennium.
Four games are lined up for the British side where they are first expected to take on the Harare Lions at Prince Edward School on Saturday. Their games against the similarly skilled Zimbabwe teams that include a Districts side, the Zimbabwe Under-19 and the Goshawks are two days apart.
In between matches the boys will embark on a programme of cultural highlights including game drives to spot elephants, lions and rhinos, a visit to the atmospheric Chinhoyi Caves and the chance to explore one of Zimbabwe’s finest national parks.
Barton was quoted on a British website saying that he believes the British’ coming to Zimbabwe will help market the country and boost the economy.
“The African country is rich in heritage and natural beauty and its people are renowned for their warmth and hospitality.
The last UK school known to have toured Zimbabwe was in 1998 but in response to a request from the Independent Schools Barbarians’ team, Edwin Doran Sports Tours decided to re-run the tour this year.
“We are delighted to be involved with the first sports tour from the UK to travel to Zimbabwe for a number of years.
“Back in the 80s and 90s we used to take schools to Zimbabwe every year and reinstating this tour will help the Zimbabwe economy,” read part of the statement on the website.
And to make sure that the British players familiarise with the Zimbabwe environment, a number of families are expected to host the boys during their nine-day stay in the country.
But before their departure, Barton added, the side is also expected to take part in some community projects where they will also travel to high-density suburbs and donate playing kits.
“The boys will stay at a variety of boarding schools, squeezing in some valuable time for school study, and be put up by host families.
“Teams travelling with us benefit from their involvement in community projects. On this trip we plan to donate rugby kits and boots to boys in the townships so they can continue to enjoy this fantastic sport.”