Paul Munyuki Sports Reporter
OLD HARARIANS coach Cyprian “Supa” Mandenge wants his men to play for their pride when they take on Old Georgians Sports Club in a National Rugby League encounter tomorrow. The last time the two sides met was in the NRL final, with Old Hararians coming back from a halftime deficit of 9-24 to score 20 points after the interval, while Old Georgians added only a penalty to lift the championship 29-27.

“Our boys need to play with pride and defend the badge or club logo they will be carrying on the left side of their chest. They need to have pride in defending their line and we also need to have the right attitude,” said Mandenge.

“I do not really need to worry about what our opposition is going to do because we cannot control how they play, but my principle is to concentrate on our team attack and defence strategies.

“At the end of the day, the team that wants it the most will win.
“We have worked hard since the beginning of the season, but hard work alone will not give us the results; we need to apply the skills on the field of play and be focussed on the day so that the hard work pays.

“No doubt the game is going to be aggressive, given that we beat them in the final last year. We are the current champions and like in any other game, every team would like to beat the champions, but we are taking it like any other game.”

Old Georgians have so far lost one game against city rivals Harare Sports Club (19-20), while Old Hararians are yet to taste defeat.
OGs have some players who were part of the Old Boys system last year and these include the former Zimbabwe Under-20 duo of winger Vistor “Jackie” Mushoriwa and Reggie Mutangadura.

“As a coach, I have to respect their decision to move on, it’s part of the game and even for me to be here today I also came from other clubs, but I have to say I was happy to work with them because at the end of the day it is about developing players for the country,” said Mandenge.

“But it is difficult to rate Old Georgians on how they have played so far, despite the fact that they lost to Harare Sports Club. It was a game that could have gone either way.

“There is nothing special really because we know the challenge that lies ahead and we are looking forward to it since we know that our games against teams like OGs and Harare Sports Club are always tense and can go either way.

“But we cannot give them special treatment; so we have to treat them like any other team in the league. Not that we don’t respect them, but every team in the league is there on merit and with that in mind we have to safeguard our position.”

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey