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WINNERS’ ENCLOSURE . . . The Dragons celebrate after winning the Spar and Lion summer 7s title in Harare last year

Jeffrey Murimbechi Sports Correspondent
ALL is set for the first leg of the annual Spar & Lion Lager Summer 7s rugby sevens tournament, Zimbabwe’s premier domestic sevens event, which will have Harare teams converging on the Dragons Den at Old Georgians Sports Club in Groombridge this evening.
Hartsfield in Bulawayo will host the second leg of the event tomorrow.
The Dragons are the defending champions and are hoping to retain the title after narrowly losing the Lion Lager National Rugby league battle to Old Hararians this year.

The tournament started off with eight teams but has grown into a contest of 20 teams with interests from Botswana, women’s teams and a newly developed youth structure which also has second teams from major clubs taking part.

Spar Zimbabwe and Lion Lager are also the sponsors of the Spar Rugby Sevens which hosts international teams including Kenya and recently Hong Kong and Georgia.

This tournament is a big stage for the Zimbabwe Cheetahs’ preparations for future events as it presents an ideal platform for scouting new domestic talent.

Tournament spokesman David Crouch is pleased with the growth of the tournament with each passing year.
“Preparations have been good, based on the growing interest in Zimbabwe Rugby we expect a bigger attendance and spectators will get to enjoy night time rugby which is a favourite in many countries around the world.”

It is expected to be an intense battle as Sables are just returning from their tour of Namibia and players like Stephen Hunduza and Fortune Chipendu are available to spice up the festival.

“The structure of the tournament seeks to ensure the best teams go forward to the second and third leg of the tournament, only the best eight teams in the country are being given the opportunity to play in the second and third legs from the 20 teams playing in the first weekend’s fixtures,” said Crouch.

“There is no prize money. The incentive is for players to play a competitive tournament and afford the players an opportunity for be selected for the national side.”

Teams
POOL A
Dragons, Old Hararians, 7s Academy, Mutare
POOL B
Harare Sports Club, Dragons 2, ZRP, Mabvuku