The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
WHEN preparing for any major sporting event, the final days leading up to the competition are like the proverbial calm before the storm.
Or so the saying goes.
For Kudakwashe Mutenda, the expression above could not be further from the truth, especially in these final days leading to the Mwana Group International Schools Rugby Festival set for the end of this month.
As the festival director, Mutenda has almost taken residence at Prince Edward School, the venue of the rugby extravaganza slated for April 28 to May 4, as he goes through the final touches with his team.
“Nowadays, I wake up as early as 4am , after which I go through my emails and check on the fixtures,” said Mutenda. “The fixtures have become a total nightmare as one can never get it right.
“One tweak to the fixtures often leads to another tweak and then another tweak. Trying to match 120 teams’ strength for strength, and make sure that everybody gets the best possible rugby experience is a lot of work.”
His daily routine sees Mutenda arriving at Prince Edward at 8am for his first in a long line of meetings, and wrap up his duties for the day at sunset.
At least US$350 000 has been poured into the festival by the Mwana Group, with the money going into the construction of a big wall towards the entrance, work on the ground, hostel repairs and the general maintenance of the fields.
Plans are afoot for the drilling of a borehole and construction of a ring road that will cover Prince Edward School and Allan Wilson School. While the construction of the ring road has already begun, this is estimated to be a three-year project and will see festival competitors use it for their warm-ups and warm-downs.
“The goal here is to leave a lasting legacy for future sponsors and editions, hence all the work currently taking place,” said Mutenda. “Our partnership with Prince Edward School is until 2028. Hopefully, we can extend it further, and we want to leave behind something that we will be remembered for.
“The schools’ rugby festival has been in existence since 1986, but there is nothing tangible associated with the competition.
“Every year, we are going to embark on an infrastructure development programme, which will become our legacy, and these things we are building will be here for many years to come.”
After a four-year hiatus, the annual schools’ rugby festival returns, with Mwana Group taking over the sponsorship from Dairibord and previously the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe.
Now christened the Mwana Group International Schools Rugby Festival, the contest is expected to wrap up a two-week age group rugby extravaganza, with the Barthes Trophy preceding it.
The Barthes Trophy, World Rugby’s third-tier Under-20 rugby competition, will be held from April 20 to 28 at Old Georgians Sports Club.
Eight of the African continent’s top Under-20 rugby teams are expected to converge on the capital, with the winner moving on to the Junior World Trophy that will be held in Scotland later this year.
The foreign teams include Namibia, Kenya, Tunisia, Senegal, Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Zambia. The contest also includes hosts Zimbabwe.
Roughly, 120 teams and a staff complement of 500 volunteers are expected to grace the Mwana Group Schools’ Rugby festival that will be headlined by clashes between the national teams of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Zambia are bringing over three national teams, namely the senior men, women and their Under-20 boys side, who will stay over from the Barthes Trophy.
These three Zambian teams are expected to clash against their Zimbabwean counterparts, namely the Sables, Lady Sables and Junior Sables’ outfits.
“Zambia are our biggest partners here and they will be bringing in three national team sides and two teams at high school level, so expect some good rugby there,” said Mutenda. We are hoping to treat the kids, both players and fans, to some good rugby as they will get to see their national teams in action.”
The matches between Zimbabwe and Zambia will be held on the final day, May 4, as women and Under-20 clashes will act as curtain raisers to the senior sides game.
In keeping up with tradition, the customary match between Prince Edward and Churchill Boys schools will be held on Friday, May 3.
Malawi and Botswana have also confirmed their participation at the festival and the two nations are expected to send three teams each.
