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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
AFTER losing most of their players who moved to other clubs, while some relocated from the eastern border city, Mutare Sports Club have assembled a youthful squad that is making a mockery of age and experience after impressive performances in the recent Sable Summer Sevens Series in Harare.
Shumbas, as Mutare Sports Club is fondly referred to by their fans, gave a good account of themselves during the first weekend of the Sables Summer Sevens Series where they finished sixth on the log out of the 12 teams that took part in the contest.
Last weekend, Shumbas finished seventh in the final weekend of the Sable Summer Sevens Series which was played in the capital.
By any standards, their performance was above average, given that out of the experienced squad they had in the past, only captain, Jones Dedza, vice-captain, Tinotenda Nyawazha, senior players, Delant Jera and Dennis Museredza were the notables remaining players in the team.
Shumbas manager, Casper ‘Belt’ Bandi could not hide his satisfaction at the performance of the team and expressed hope for much better things to come in the forthcoming assignments.
“We went to Harare with an inexperienced team. The team that played two years ago is totally different from the current one.
“I was really impressed with how these young boys performed.
It was beyond my expectations. They managed to put up a good fight and the attitude was fantastic. Their average age is 20, and they did quite well to match their more experienced competitors.
“We are now looking forward to the resumption of the Sevens Series in March next year. I guess we will be in a better position or state than we were when we took part in the recent Sevens Series,” he said.
Coming to the 15s, MSC will be hosting Zimbiru Club from Harare on Sunday before they host Masvingo Rugby Club next Sunday.
Both Zimbiru and Masvingo Sports Club are in their developmental stages although the former has been part of the team that partook in the Sable Sevens Series.
“As we come to the 15s, we are on a rebuilding path with our young boys who did well in the recent Sevens Series. We hope to perform well again and we will not underestimate any of our opponents. We hope that these boys will quickly adapt and perform as much as their senior colleagues who left,” said Bandi.
Usually dubbed the Super Six Rugby League, the 15s version runs under Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) and its normally played by best six teams in the country, three from Harare, two from Bulawayo and Mutare Sports Club Rugby Club.
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