Rugby club brings hope to Maun
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday May 21, 2022 05:55
Back in the day, the northern part of Botswana was a hive of rugby activity with great clubs like Eastern Military Garrison (EMG) Gunners from Selebi-Phikwe, Ghetto Sharks in Francistown, Maun Dogs, and Gantsi Hungry Lions. There was high interest in rugby with the hosting of tournaments such as Gold Dust in Francistown. The clubs in the north made significant contributions to the development of rugby at school, club, and national team levels.
Northern Botswana boasts of some of the top schools in the country with a very rich rugby history such as Selebi-Phikwe Secondary School, Mater Spei College and Maun Secondary School.
To cater to all this talent in the region, two former rugby players, Kyle Macintyre and Bucks Keopetswe have established The Great North Rugby Club. The club is meant to give selected players from the north a chance to play against counterparts from across the border and they have already faced Highlanders from Zimbabwe on several occasions.
Speaking to Mmegi Sport, Keopetswe said the schools in the north could beat any team on their given day.
“Most of these schools are boarding and the players come from all parts of the country and play great rugby for their schools and then return home leaving without proper rugby structures. Most of the tertiary institutions are in the south and that makes the south gain more from these players who would have otherwise benefitted from their local teams,” he said.
Keopetswe said that is going to be a thing of the past if efforts by The Great North Club and a group of rugby enthusiasts are anything to go by.
“Our club recently launched a plan for the spirited revival efforts of rugby in the north with a project aimed at getting players from all the areas that have individuals who want to play but cannot do so for lack of clubs in their areas into one club based in Maun. This will raise players' spirits and hopefully inspire them to get their home clubs up and running. We also hope to get the juniors playing at any available platform,” he said.
Keopetswe said the club was recently drafted to play in the Botswana Rugby Union (BRU) league, a move that will see rugby returning to Maun after more than two decades.
“The club is mainly composed of an Under-21 team with a few senior players. We look forward to having a senior team, a junior side and a women’s team,” he said.
Keopetswe said despite the dream of the return of rugby in the north, they are faced with challenges of lack of equipment such as movable rugby poles, balls, kit, cones, tackle bags, and ruck shields. He said the team uses the Matshwane Primary School field in Maun as home ground.