Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE curtain comes down on the Unforgettable Sevens Summer Series this afternoon with overall winners set to be crowned at the final tournament round set for Hartsfield Rugby Grounds.
The competition has been running for the past seven weeks with round five of the series having been played in Gweru.
All the other rounds were played in Bulawayo.
Mavula Boys, Bulldogs, Highlanders, Platinum Warriors, Gold Warriors, Old Miltonians, Barbarians, Masvingo and Gweru Sports Club are teams taking part in the competition.
The competitions spokesperson Theo Weale said rugby enthusiasts who will make it to the grounds are guaranteed quality rugby action.
“Over the past six weeks a local company by the name Unforgettable and the Bulawayo Rugby board entered into a partnership and we planned to run a rugby series for seven weeks; the first four weeks were played in Bulawayo. The main reason for coming up with this competition is to unearth sevens rugby talent,” said Weale.
“Despite the fact that we were coming from a lockdown the guys were exceptional from the start of the competition.
As we progressed the standard of play improved. We are pleased that the tournament managed to get the Bulawayo boys back playing rugby again. We are happy that we even had ladies’ teams take part in the competition. We hope to have more ladies’ teams taking part in the competition.”
Weale said they were hoping some of the players that are playing in the competition would be identified and some day play for the national side.
“We hope that we will get some of our players to be drafted in the national side. That will be a big sign of success for us,” he said.
Meanwhile, ZRU is set to launch an academy in Gweru in a bid to revive the game in the Midlands province.
The academy is part of the union’s nationwide drive to revive rugby at grassroots level with the hope of creating reliable feeders for national teams.
The ZRU board finalised its agreements with Sheasham Football Club, who renovated the Gweru Sports Club.
The facility is the only one that houses rugby in the city, meaning it will be shared between the academy and Sheasham, who are using it as their home ground in the Zifa Central Region Division One League.
— @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter