The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE national Under-14 rugby coach, Gordon Pangeti believes that the AMG Global Falcon College Under-14 Rugby Coaching Festival which started last Friday and concludes on Sunday assists the juniors a lot to adapt from the sports they engaged in during the first term as they shift to the game played with the oval shaped ball.
Pangeti, who is also the sports director at The Heritage School in Harare said that the coaching the local youngsters are getting from the South African experts will help them a lot to get into the groove for rugby come the second term. Greg Miller, Marius Hurter, Nico le Roux, Jacques Botes and Michael Horak are the coaches from the Investec Rugby Academy who are handing out their expertise to local lads and their mentors.
“What we are trying to do is to get the coaches to develop skills for the juniors, as you know we have just finished the first term so most of the boys have been doing athletics, some were doing waterpolo, some basketball and they haven’t really gotten into the rugby frame of mind so all the skills sets that we witnessed today, the scrimmaging, the rucking, attack patterns, just reaction to the game that’s going to help them as the season starts,’’ said Pangeti.
With national team trials conducted three weeks into the second term, Pangeti feels that a tournament like the one at Falcon College puts some of the youngsters way ahead of others as they get to understand what their roles are in the team.
He also urged the local coaches to apply some of the tips they received from the Investec mentors. Pangeti called for more such tournaments as they assist the coaches in their selection process.
“I think the more tournaments that we have like this, it makes our life much easier because we get to identify some boys and then you get some names and of we have camps during the holiday we can call these boys to try and get to see them, tell them to start training, staying fit. There is potential, it’s not to say you will be guaranteed to make the national team but you might make it into the provincial team with hard work and the things that you apply like the Investec guys said they are giving them tools and if you use these tools you get a better opportunity to then make it into your provincial and later on national team,’’ Pangeti said.
The festival went into its second day on Saturday with the South African coaches, together with former Sables mentor, Brendan Dawson sharing their expertise with the youngsters who later played matches against each other.
A formal dinner was held in Bulawayo on Saturday evening for officials, sponsors and parents.
Falcon College Under-14 Rugby Coaching Festival day two full results
Barwick 10-20 Highlanders, Hillcrest 45-0 Churchill, Falcon 25-0 Midlands Christian College, Lomagundi 10-Heritage 30, Barwick/Highlands 30-15 Whitestone, Gateway 0-25 Christian Brothers College
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