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Mzingaye Sibanda Sports Reporter
THE 2014 National Rugby League kicks off with a Bulawayo derby pitting Old Miltonians and Western Panthers at Hartsfield Ground tomorrow.
Rugby enthusiasts will be in for a treat as Busters and Gweru Sports Club will curtain raise.The old foes OMs and Panthers will be battling for bragging rights going into the season.

Panthers won the first tie last season 42-22 while the reverse fixture ended in a 14-14 stalemate.

OMs dominated their opponents during the pre-season game, thrashing Panthers       22-7 in the Independence Cup last weekend.
Panthers’ player-coach George Mukorera said they want to make OMs sweat for their victory as they want to put behind their pre-season woes.

“Our aim is to start on a positive note so OMs should brace for a tough encounter. A win will give us a boost, we didn’t have a good pre-season and we also lost most of our senior guys,” he said.

Panthers’ strength lies in fullbacks while OMs have strong forwards.

“It will be a battle of backs and forwards, they have experienced forwards but we also have good backs, so it will be a good game as I will also be playing to give the young boys a boost upfront,” said Mukorera.

Panthers are banking on the likes of Slatter Ndlovu, Dumisani Ncube, Tichaona Mpamhadzi and centre Kudakwashe Chimukuya to carry their afternoon.

NRL returnees Mutare kick off with a difficult match against 2013 losing finalists, Old Georgians at Harare Sports Club.

Old Georgians have a lot of international players within their ranks and that will be an advantage for them. However, both teams would want to kick off on a positive note.

Zvishavane Bulls make the long trip to Harare Sports Club having been saved from relegation by a boardroom decision. They will definitely be out to impress.

Fixtures:

Old Georgians v Mutare Sports Club, Harare Sports Club v Zhishavane Bulls, Busters v Gweru Sports Club, Old Miltonians v Western Panthers.