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Brandon Moyo, [email protected]

THE Unforgettable Milton High Schools Rugby Festival held at Hartsfield Rugby Ground on Thursday and Friday demonstrated the grassroots development of rugby in Bulawayo, featuring schoolboy rugby teams from across the country, including Northlea and Hamilton, as well as girls’ teams.

The festival packed the Hartsfield Grounds with spectators and former Zimbabwe Sevens head coach Gilbert “Gidza” Nyamutsamba was pleased with the turnout.

Sables legend Victor Olonga also attended the event.

“From our side, we are happy with the turnout. Our main objective is to take rugby to everyone and get more people to partake in it and that is what we are working on. It’s still work in progress. This time around we had schools from all over the country participating and I believe we have achieved part of our objectives.

“We are pleased with the way all the schools played. It’s good for the development of our grassroots. It was two good days of fun and sport. We also had girls’ teams competing, which is a good thing for the growth of rugby, it was inclusive. We are big on development and giving opportunities to everyone for the betterment of the game and players. Overall, we are impressed and would like to thank everyone who made this festival a resounding success,” said Nyamutsamba.

The festival’s objective was to take rugby to everyone and get more people involved in the game, particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic, and next year, two teams from outside the country are expected to participate.

Previously, the Bulawayo Metropolitan Rugby Football Board (BMRFB) Under-20 league featured close to 10 teams and five women’s teams.

Tournament director Lovemore Mangwiro said the tournament will be bigger, with the coming in of two teams from outside the country.

“The festival was a great success and all schools played with passion. The tournament provided schools the chance to test their combinations in preparation for the season. Girls exhibited great skills and a lot of potential.

“The Churchill and Milton game was the highlight of the day, with Churchill continuing to dominate the fierce rivalry. A big thank you to everyone involved,” said Mangwiro.

Zimbabwe Rugby Union (RZU) Southern Region vice-president, Martin Shone, expressed their happiness with the grassroots development of the game.

“As ZRU, we are happy because without grassroots we cannot grow the game, so this is the grassroots that we are talking about.

As you saw, there are teams from all over the country, which is exciting and hopefully it will grow in the coming years and have more numbers.

“But most importantly, it’s the fact that guys are getting to play rugby. Remember we had the Covid break where we had two years of inactivity in terms of rugby and now we are trying to make up for that lost time and obviously it keeps the guys busy and off the streets, so it’s a good tournament,” said Shone.

Bulawayo players were in action for the Bulawayo Metropolitan Rugby Football Board (BMRFB) Under-20 league prior to the two-day festival.

Unforgettable Milton Schools Rugby Festival Results:

Day One (First Teams Field A): Hamilton 17-22 CBC, Northlea 0-37 Petra, Sobukhazi 0-43 Gifford, Western Suburbs 15-5 Goromonzi, Plumtree 12-33 Churchill, Allan Wilson 12-14 Milton

Day One (Under-16s Field B): Goromonzi 34-0 Gifford, Hamilton 0-17 Milton, Plumtree Girls 0-32 Goromonzi Girls , Entumbane Girls 10-0 Northlea Girls, Plumtree 0-24 Churchill, Western Suburbs 7-22 Allan Wilson, Masiyephambili 5-27 Petra, Milton 0-9 CBC

Day Two (First Teams Field A): CBC 29-0 Sobukhazi, Direct Contact 0-48 Gifford, Northlea 0-38 Western Suburbs, Petra 0-27 Goromonzi, Allan Wilson 8-15 Plumtree, Churchill 44-6 Milton

Day Two (Under-16s Field B): Gifford 0-38 Western Suburbs, Churchill 22-0 Milton, Masiyephambili 0-36 Hamilton, Plumtree Girls 17-5 Entumbane Girls, Allan Wilson 0-0 Plumtree, Goromonzi 7-14 CBC, Northlea Girls 5-48 Goromonzi Girls, Western Suburbs 38-5 Hamilton, Petra 8-5 Milton. – @brandon_malvin