The Sunday News
FORMER players of defunct Hwange Diggers Rugby Club, that was disbanded six years ago, are set to revive the team through harnessing talent from local schools.
Hwange Diggers folded after its principal sponsor, Hwange Colliery Company Limited pulled out of the partnership culminating in the team’s failure to travel for its games in the National Rugby League as well as to offer its players allowances.
Though it was not a formidable side at the time it was in the national league, the team had the potential to become one of the country’s rugby powerhouses through superb infrastructure and facilities.
The team boasted of talented players such as Sikhuleko Tshabalala, Jonathan Mathe and Exams Ncube. Former loose forward Bernard Ncube and national women rugby player, Octavia Munhamo have over the past two years been working with local high schools and primary schools in identifying and nurturing talent. Munhamo was an integral member of the national women’s team, the Pangolins but was forced to sit it out for over a year after injuring her left upper arm in a match against Tunisia in April 2013. She has since recuperated and started light individual training at her base in the coal mining town.
“We have been working with Hwange Secondary and Hwange High Schools where we have managed to come up with teams and we are looking forward to approaching other local schools like Chilota, Lukosi and Chilisa.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm about the game among the pupils but the problem lies in that most of the talent might go down the drain because we don’t have a competitive senior team to feed these boys into,” Ncube said.
He said there was a need for corporates operating within Hwange to chip in with financial assistance as a way of supporting the growth of the sport in the district and eventually in the province.
“If we manage to get a number of schools to include rugby on their sporting calendars we will even go to other Matabeleland North schools such as Fatima and Mabhikwa to introduce the sport and that way we can revive Hwange Diggers, but local companies will have to come on board and support us to realise our dream,” said Ncube, adding that they had since approached one of the country’s renowned rugby coaches, George “Rollo” Mukorera to assist them with expertise in nurturing talent.
“We have since approached and invited Rollo to come and assist us in coaching as well as imparting to us the requisite basic technical skills required in rugby. We are looking at attending coaching courses because schools prefer someone who is a holder of a coaching certificate to conduct trainings,” Ncube said.
He was full of praises for Munhamo, whom he said was doing a commendable job in introducing rugby at primary schools.
“She is doing quite a commendable job in introducing the sport at a number of primary schools where they play tag rugby. This way the kids appreciate the sport at a tender age,” said Ncube.
Munhamo said she has been actively involved in rugby at seven primary schools in the coal mining town and her prospects are to open an academy in the near future.
“I’ve introduced rugby in seven primary schools and efforts to render my assistance in secondary schools are being affected by work commitments. I am, however, overwhelmed. The children seem to be enjoying the sport even though we are only practicing tag rugby instead of the contact one,’’ said Munhamo.
“I have already approached the Hwange Local Board to allocate me a piece of land where I intend to set up an academy as I believe there is too much talent in this district, which can go all the way to play for the national team or even find its way in lucrative leagues abroad,” she said.
Just like Ncube, the Pangolins centre said there was a need for the corporate world to support the sport in the district so that it could grow, adding that the future of women’s rugby in the country was bright as the number of girls participating in the sport was ever increasing.
