IRB vice president Oregan Hoskins was so impressed with what he saw during the five-day Dairibord Schools Rugby Festival, that he promised to table the issue of funding for the festival at this IRB meeting.
The Dairibord Schools Rugby Festival is widely regarded as the biggest in the world from a participation point of view. It attracts close to 3,000 players from schools in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
“Zimbabwe is ready to host a tournament under the auspices of the International Rugby Board,” said Hoskins, who is also the president of the South African Rugby Board.
The IRB chief was convinced Zimbabwe’s upcoming players were a talented lot with enough potential to become international stars. He said they only needed more competitive international games before they could challenge the best the world had to offer.
Even Sebastien Garikai, the organiser of the festival, who is also the Prince Edward School sports director, was amazed at the huge amount of talent on display. He noted that the style of play had changed and that the game had become more exciting, faster, and more open.
The South African National team selector, Ian McIntosh, a former Zimbabwe national team coach, was also at the festival, which has now become Zimbabwe’s conveyor belt of talent. This year’s festival ended on May 10 having attracted more than 190 schools.
Post published in: Rugby