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Nkosilathi Sibanda, Online Reporter

HWANGE Diggers head coach, Dion Kamwendo has said they have embarked on establishing community and school teams in a bid to expand the game of rugby in the coal mining town.

Kamwendo said this on the backdrop of concerns over the collapse of competitive rugby in the town and the greater part of Matabeleland North, over the years.

Hwange town was the epitome of sporting excellence some decades ago but, boasting of an array of sport codes, out of which as many stars were honed, it is no longer the same.

Most of the infrastructure is now in a state of ruin, with no signs of being renovated soon.

The sport of rugby was affected as well.

Having noticed the collapse and sudden fold of the game, a group of rugby players within the Hwange Diggers team, resolved to revive the sport.

First in their plans has been to work with schools and colleges around Hwange and Victoria Falls, according to Kamwendo.

 “We have established community and school teams as we want to refocus our efforts of reviving rugby in our town and areas beyond.

“The proposed plan is to first work hand in hand with primary schools where we target children who are 13 years of age and below. We are looking forward to venture into secondary schools. Already we are making head way and we expect to commence training once schools open,” said Kamwendo.

He said presently in the absence of competitive games, their main focus was on tag rugby, which is a non-contact version of the game.

“As it is, we are on a break. We train every Tuesday and Thursday, mainly concentrating on tag rugby which is a form of rugby. It’s absolutely safe even for kids when compared to contact rugby.”

The coach revealed that in their quest to improve, Hwange Diggers have in the past months been travelling to Zambia to get more game time.

“There’s no existing league so we’ve just been organising our own matches. We’ve played teams as far as Livingstone, Zambia. In so doing we are trying to improve our skills and give our players game time. In the near future as we engage schools and colleges alike, we would be in a position to organise competitive matches both at developmental level and on the seniors’ side,” he said