adminMbachi Mutukula-Maregere Sports Reporter
LOCAL rugby players cannot wait to quench their thirst for competitive rugby when the Sevens Summer Series gets underway today in both Harare and Bulawayo.
It’s been three months since local rugby clubs played competitive rugby after the National Rugby XVs League was cancelled midway through the season due to lack of funds.
But today, some of these players will be back in action.
The Harare leg of the Sevens Summer Series will be held at Harare Sports Club, while the Southern Region tournament will be held at Hartsfield Rugby Grounds today.
Despite the long break, some of the players continued with their training schedules and for Harare Sports Club the likes of Taddy “Boxer” Whata, Stephan Hunduza, Reginald Kawesa and Lenience Tambwera were going through their paces.
The quartet has been training for over three months, working on strength and conditioning and speed.
They said they are looking forward to playing the tournament.
“Our goal is to win all our group matches. We never stopped training. We love rugby and when we heard there was no more NRL, we felt bad, but we decided to continue training,” said Whata.
“Finally, the day is here and we are looking forward to it. We were hungry for the game and we hope that we will win.
“We were working at a number of areas, especially strength and our speed and we are now perfect; our speed is awesome as well as the fitness.
“Personally, I am more than ready.”
Harare Sports Club captain Shingai Mpofu is one of the players who said he will not be available.
Mpofu, who plays prop in the Sevens and flanker in the XVs, said he has not been training.
“This time I will not be available because I have not been training since the league ended,” said Mpofu.
Online Reporter