The club, the first in decades, spun off a joint venture by platinum mining firm, MIMOSA and Shabanie Mine and will campaign in the Midlands-Matabeleland B1 league. They will seek to be the second Midlands-based side to reach the supreme national league, after the recently-promoted Gweru Sports Club.
Enthusiasts are impressed. “We have spent a lot travelling around the country just for rugby action and this development is good news,” said Tafara Mupfupfudzi, a local businessman.
Primrose Guti described this as a dream come true for the local community after a long wait.
“This is a blessing indeed. We had hungered for this game here for a very long time,” she said.
Boutique operator Clarkson Dickens agreed, adding that vast talent had gone to waste in the town.
A Shabanie Mine employee, Paterson Mushandiri, pointed out that the Shabanie Bulls’ creation would give disgruntled workers an alternate recreational activity, while other fans reiterated that resources should be channelled towards identifying talented players countrywide, to boost quality.
Club manager Ganizani Ganizani expressed hope that the club would stay the course in the local rugby scene and urged locals to rally behind them.
Gweru Sports Club player-coach Zwelonke Mloiswa, summed it up. “The emergence of Shabanie Bulls basically broadens the promotion of rugby in the country at large.”
Post published in: Rugby