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Sports Reporter
PREPARATIONS for this year’s edition of the Dairibord Schools Rugby Festival have gathered momentum with the launch for the annual event slated for next week at The Venue in Avondale.

The festival is set to attract both regional and international participants with foreign teams from Bangladesh, Botswana, Nigeria and Zambia scheduled to join the local budding rugby players from Primary and Secondary schools at Prince Edward School.

Sables coach, Peter de Villiers, is expected to grace the launch on Tuesday, with the festival running from April 29 to May 5.

In a statement released by the organisers, Dairibord spokesperson Imelda Shoko said for the fifth-year running, they will be sponsoring the festival with the aim of spreading the game to all corners of the country.

“Our continued sponsorship of the festival is motivated by the immeasurable benefits that the discipline brings to the talented boys and girls with a passion for rugby,” Shoko said.

Nine international referees are expected to grace the festival.

Festival director, Tawanda Jimu, said preparations were well on course, with regular meetings being held to map the way forward.

“Invitations to schools were done and the responses we got were phenomenal, as we speak we have closed the entries after we reached our 150-schools capacity.

‘’We are doing a basic first aid course in rugby, which is a requirement from World Rugby, to have all medical personnel trained.