FUNGAYI MUNYORO-CHINGAIRA
SPORTS REPORTER

HARARE- The Nedbank Rugby Challenge Cup is underway beginning today (Friday) at Harare Sports Club in Harare and eight clubs are competing for their players to be drawn into national teams and the prize money.
The three-day sports extravaganza is featuring Old Georgians, Old Hararians, Harare Sports Club, Pitbulls, Matabeleland Warriors, Mutare Sports Club, Nedbank Under-20 High Performance and Nedbank Development team.
The finals are slated for Sunday.
In an interview with Mirror Sport, Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) president Aaron Jani said the Nedbank challenge will help both the national Under-20 and Sables to prepare for the upcoming regional tournaments.
“Once again we are grateful to Nedbank for affording us an opportunity to play this tournament. We are preparing our teams who are going to play in regional tournaments.
“We have the Sables who will be playing the Currie Cup and we have the under-20s who are preparing for the Barthes Trophy. We are hoping that this tournament will help us to finalize our teams and give us the much needed intensity and game time before the teams travel,” he said.
The Nedbank Challenge Cup is a calendar event that embassies grassroots player development and pathway into national structures from Under-20 into the senior structures in 15’s and 7’s codes of the game.
The tournament serves as a platform for final selection and talent identification from players across the country for the Zimbabwe Under-20, Senior Men’s Goshawks and the Cheetahs. The Nedbank Challenge provides opportunities for the developmental structures to put together the best players and get them to compete against the top clubs and provincial teams while the rivalry and competitive rugby will be displayed on the field.
Meanwhile Mutare Sports Club will start their Nedbank campaign on Saturday against Nedbank Development team before another encounter on Sunday. Shumbas’ target is to have as many players as possible to get selected into the national teams.
Shumbas manager Casper ‘Belt’ Bhandi told Mirror Sports that the team wants to have many players picked for the national teams. He also added that getting into the final will be a bonus.
“Our preparations have been going on well. The boys are ready for the challenge. We have played a couple of games to assess the player combination and it’s coming up well. We want our players to be selected for the national sides.
“Manicaland has much talent and over the years we have produced good players who are doing very well. We can talk of the likes of Martin Mangongo, Ngoni Chibuwe and our skipper Jones Dedza is doing well. We also have youngsters who are doing well. We have what it takes to produce national team players. Going all the way to the finals is a bonus for us,” he said.

Round 1 Fixture (Friday)
Nedbank Under-20 v Nedbank Development team
Old Hararians v Pitbulls
Harare Sports Club v Old Georgians
Round 2 (Saturday)
Mutare Sports Club v Nedbank Development team
Old Georgians v Pitbulls
Harare sports club v Matabeleland Warriors
Nedbank Under-20 v Old Hararians