The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
BROTHERS Emmanuel and Lewis Munyoro have a unique way of introducing themselves onto the international stage.
Emmanuel, the elder brother, is best remembered for scoring the winning try during Zimbabwe’s 27-26 victory over Namibia back in 2001.
That narrow win at Hartsfield was his debut for the Sables and ironically Zimbabwe’s last victory over the Welwitschias.
In as far as Lewis is concerned, the future is full of endless potential.
On his debut at the then Cottco Schools Rugby Festival, Lewis was part of the Cyprian Mandenge coached Eaglesvale outfit that charmed the hearts of all in attendance during the 2014 edition.
And that was before his move to England, which in itself is an entirely different story.
“Rugby was not really my first choice in sports,” said the 24-year-old Coventry University centre.
“And it was also the case with my brother, Emmanuel, who was a prolific hockey player and actually has a few caps for the national team.
“Personally, I have always fancied myself as a basketball player, but that all changed when I met Coach Supa (Mandenge) who introduced me to the sport.
“It was only after we started getting some clout at Eaglesvale and I was then selected for Mashonaland Under-18 that I started taking the sport seriously,” he said.
After completing “A” Level education, Munyoro then moved to England and as fate would have it again, he made yet another splash with Coventry University.
“I was named Rookie of the Year, during my first season with Coventry,” he said.
“I did not stay long as I soon made the switch to league rugby, from widely popular and more conventional Union rugby,” he said.
Formed back in 1892, the Rugby League is a slightly different incarnation of the rugby most know today.
The differences in the two, can be seen in the number of players, which has 13 players each team for the league and 15 for the Union.
The scoring is also slightly different with a point, conversion and penalty worth five, two and three points in Union based rugby and four, one and two in the league version.
Despite the two running concurrently, it has not stopped players jumping from one to the other as in the case of New Zealand’s Sonny Bill Williams and Tonga’s Israel Folau who on top of having played in the rugby league have also featured for the Union with Blues and the All Blacks and Waratahs and Tonga respectively.
And these are the footsteps that the younger Munyoro hopes to follow.
“It’s every sportsman and woman’s dreams to represent their country in the chosen professional, and for me it would be a dream come true,” said Lewis.
“The fact that I have an older brother who has done it and flourished only strengthens my resolve to go ahead and achieve that goal.
“Most people don’t realize the amount of effort I have put into playing for the Sables.
‘My time here (England) is spent doing either one of two things; on the field playing rugby, on in the gym doing all I can to stay fit and healthy in preparation for the day that phone call comes,” he said.
In the meantime, Lewis pretty much has his hands full.
He was recently selected in the England Universities side for the President’s Cup, which is a four-team tournament involving selected sides from the Armed Forces, Police, Teachers and Universities.
The team is also expected to travel to Scotland for the Four-nation tournament in June.
