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Brandon Moyo
A CONVINCING win over Panthers in round seven of matches in the 2024 Bulawayo Metropolitan Rugby Football Board Archer Clothing Rugby League saw Matabeleland Warriors keep up the pressure on log leaders Old Miltionians (OMs).
The defending champions, Warriors, pummelled Panthers 59-5 on Saturday at Hartsfield Rugby Grounds with only one round-robin match left to be played.
Saturday’s victory saw the Warriors move to 30 points, while OMs are on 34 points following their 20-0 victory over the Bulldogs. OMs are the only side yet to taste defeat, seven matches into the league.
Warriors’ head of tech Ruben Kumpasa who took charge of the team in the absence of head coach Aubrey Dube said despite not playing the best of rugby on the day, they were happy with collecting maximum points.
“Well, it wasn’t an enjoyable game but you can never take the win away from the boys, they played their hearts out and they won. They played to structure at some point and at some point they looked lost but going forward to next weekend where we face OMs, I am certain they will bring their A game.
“But, it was a good game, it was a good win, 52 points is not easy to score, it shows that the boys worked hard. We have closed that gap between us and OMs, so whoever wins next week goes on top, if OMs win they will remain on top and if we win we will go on top going into the play-offs and finals,” said Kumpasa.
At the conclusion of the round-robin stage next week, the top four teams will proceed to the play-offs. The log leaders will face number four while runners up will be up against the third placed team.
Despite a heavy defeat on Saturday against Warriors, Panthers gaffer George “Rollo” Mukorera was optimistic that they will be able to make the top four at the end of the league format.
“I have a fairly youthful side and most of the boys lack experience but we are trying our best. We are very confident of making the top four, the boys will have to pull it through next week, they are like wounded lions so what we need to do is finish up the season on a high note. We have talked about it with the boys, we have a couple of things we need to work on,”said Mukorera.
OMs head coach Victor Chiwara was disappointed with how things unfolded for their game on Saturday.
“I feel bad for the guys we had planned to give game time today because after this we are going to have two tough games and we are not going to have the chance to rotate the team so I’m a bit gutted for those guys but there’s nothing we can do, we just look forward to the next game,” said Chiwara.
With OMs and Warriors having already secured their play-off spots, Panthers and Highlanders are leading the race for the other two remaining slots.
Panthers are in third place with 11 points, three ahead of fourth-placed Highlanders who are on eight points. Bulldogs anchor the standings with six points. League action resumes this coming Saturday with a top of the table clash on the cards between Warriors and OMs while Highlanders face Panthers. – @brandon_malvin
Online Reporter