Zimpapers Logo

READY FOR BATTLE . . . Hillcrest College team members line-up ahead of one of their matches earlier this year

Goodwill Zunidza Mutare Correspondent
MANICALAND schools rugby flag-bearers Hillcrest College are basking in the glory of a near-perfect season that has just come to an end but coach Chrispen Mhike has played down the impact of new arrivals from Mbare Rugby Academy.

The trust school, situated in the Imbeza valley of Penhalonga, 20 kilometres north-west of the city of Mutare, swooped on the famous Mbare Rugby Academy at the beginning of the year, and scooped an unstated number of players. The players did not think twice after they have since offered a lifetime opportunity of a world-class facility to study and international-standard sport structures to nurture their promising rugby talent.

The now-defunct rugby academy held the nation spellbound with their sudden emergence from the slums of Mbare, where there is no functioning rugby pitch, to cause huge shocks in youth rugby including a stir at the Dairibord Schools Rugby Festival held at Prince Edward in the capital where they went undefeated for years.

Some of their products are now stars in their own right with Njabulo “Slater” Ndlovu and Stephen Hunduza turning out for the Sables, the former even plying their trade in France.

By coincidence or by design, Hillcrest enjoyed one of their best seasons ever in the schools rugby league this year during which they won all but two of their league matches, including a watershed victory over Kyle College of Masvingo whom they had never defeated before in a competitive engagement.

The Mutareans, whose last major products were current Zimbabwe and Old Georgians loose forward Jacques Leitao and former Sable Paul Georgeau, this year supplied four players to the Old Mutual Junior Sables teams that participated at the Craven Week festival in South Africa last month.

Known as the Leopards, Hillcrest toured South Africa in the pre-season and featured at the Krugersdorp Easter tournament where they beat Roodeport and Hoerskool and drew with hosts Krugersdorp College. They headed for the Dairibord Schools Festival upon return and stretched hosts Prince Edward in the opener before narrowly losing 10-19.

The season proper yielded victories over fellow townsmen Mutare Boys High, Kwekwe High, Lomagundi College, Midlands Christian College, Hellenic Academy, Petra High, Gateway High and Heritage College. The Leopards’ single loss came at the hands of giants Churchill Bulldogs.

Mhike, who is also the Zimbabwe Under-16 team manager, said while the contribution from the ex-Mbare Rugby Academy contingent during the season was notable the new players were still being developed.

“We have very few of them and they are mostly in our younger sides and they have fitted in well,’’ said Mhike, without revealing the number of players recruited from the once all-conquering academy.

Mhike attributed Hillcrest’s ascendancy to good coaching and an adequate budget which had transformed the playing environment and turned the school into a potential national rugby power.

“As a school our rugby is improving and we have a serious strength and conditioning programme. We also have good coaches in our junior sides (and) a good budget for equipment and kit. All this has improved our rugby and sport in general,’’ he said.

“We have had an amazing season. We won nearly all our games and when we played Churchill although we lost it was very close. The negative was losing to Eaglesvale in our last league game although we played extremely well in that encounter.

“But we had four national representatives, two in the Under-14, one in Under-17 and one who played for the Under-18s meaning we had a representative in all age group teams of Zimbabwe which to me was very positive.’’

Leopards are now aiming at continued improvement and turn the heat on the big rugby-playing schools next year.

“We have the bulk of this team back next year and we hope to be stronger and be able to beat the big boys schools and to have more national team players,’’ said Mhike.