Vultures confident ahead of final

BOITUMELO KHUTSAFALO
Staff Writer | Wednesday August 8, 2007 00:00

 

The Vultures made history when they qualified for the final for the first time last month in a week-long tournament played in Gaborone. Gilbert believes that they can win the final as they have had good preparations and his charges are ready for battle. He revealed that they have been studying their opponents. 'We have been watching their videos in action. We also played them three years ago when we won 38-12,' he said. He does not expect Tanzania to be pushovers though.

 
Gilbert is concerned about the way his charges execute the game plan. He said that they are working on the problem to avoid the same mistakes they made in their Pool A games played in Gaborone last month. 'Last month, we did not play well in the first game which we eventually lost and only showed our capabilities in the second and the last game. So we must try and avoid the mistakes,' he said.

The Vultures train on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Gilbert said though they will not be having any practice matches before the Tanzania game, the boys will be ready since most of them are active at club level.

 
Botswana beat Mauritius 31-11 in their last game to pip favourites Reunion through goal difference of 57 to 49 to qualify for the final after both countries garnered 10 points. Against Mauritius, many had doubted Vultures chances.

The Mauritians were riding high after crushing tournament favourites Reunion 53-3. However, Vultures performed miracles to beat Mauritius' impressive wins against Swaziland (46-0) and Zambia (52-6).

 
Botswana Rugby Union (BRU) spokesperson, Captain Oupa Pandor said that the boys have been improving with each game. He added that they are eager to meet Tanzania. 'If you look at the performance of the current Vultures' team, you can see that they have improved than that of last year,' he said.

He asserted that playing at home will give the boys a boost. 'It is all the back up you get that gives you to play your best and therefore playing at home is very important for us,' he said. He urged fans to come and support the team and give the boys encouragement. 'They must come and see that they have capable players,' he told Mmegi Sport. He said that people should stop viewing rugby as a sport for white people. He said that sport does not have colour and therefore is for everybody.