The Sunday Mail
Deputy Sports Editor
As the winds of change sweep over the local schools rugby fraternity following the coming on board of Dariboard onto the Schools Rugby Festival, the move appears to have been well-received by most rugby stakeholders. Dairibord Zimbabwe Private Limited officially formalised their new three-year relationship with schools rugby when they unveiled a sponsorship package at a function held at Prince Edward.
The new Dairibord Schools Rugby festival will now be held between May 5 and 10 and credit should go to the new sponsors who have vowed not to change a thing.
This means Prince Edward remain the hosts, while the educational and cultural programs will not only remain but keep growing as the tournament also continues in its quest to spread the game to all parts of the country and beyond.
Initial reactions were that of anxiety and fear that the change might ruin the brand which spans about 15 years, the same time schools rugby and Cottco had been in bed together.
However, a survey by The Sunday Mail Sports among the game’s relevant stakeholders has revealed a general satisfaction at Dairibord’s arrival.
In separate interviews Zimbabwe Rugby Union general manager Sifiso Made, former national coach Godwin “Jaws” Murambiwa and festival director Sebastian Garikai seemed satisfied, excited even, at the coming of Dairibord Zimbabwe Private Limited (DZPL) into the rugby family.
“What Dairibord’s coming on board simply means is that there is now a synergy between the youth, rugby and the organisation as the festival will run as usual with the sponsors supporting us. Nothing is going to change and that is a fact,” said Garikai.
“Dairibord have committed to a three-year deal and this in itself is a good thing as it helps us with flexibility when planning our festivals. In other words we can actually come up with a three-year plan for every edition as it comes.
“The deal is equally beneficial to the two main entities namely; Dairibord and schools rugby, as their products have a ready and relevant market in our target age group and we benefit from their financial assistance.
“The only change of relevance here is that we are actually going to have a final 15 squad for each age group while I cannot divulge the details, I will say that we have big plans for those teams,” he said.
Murambiwa also echoed the same sentiments, squashing the talk of the impact a change in name might have.
“Listen, when I was still a lad and played at this festival it was still called the David Whitehead Rugby Festival and I still have friends and former teammates who refer to it as that. The change in name to Cottco Rugby Festival had not impact in the growth and neither will this.
“That said, I believe the move is a positive thing as it means Dairibord have seen and acknowledged the work we have done over the past few years at festival. It is a seal of approval as schools rugby has come a long way and done some impressive stuff that they want to be associated with.
“What need to do is focus on the task at hand and that is the game of rugby, and we should ignore all that nonsense and get these boys and girls onto the pitch to play rugby,’ he said.
Made also chinned in from the ZRU’s perspective saying any form of sponsorship is very much welcome when it comes to rugby but he believes Dairibord can actually be the ideal partners especially considering the role nutrition and sports supplements play in sport.
