Sevens squad prepare for Castle Cup

NELSON DIRENG
Correspondent | Wednesday August 18, 2010 00:00

Twenty players are in the squad, which will be trimmed to 12 on Friday. 'The team consists mostly of players who have represented Botswana in regional Sevens tournaments,' said Mooketsi Ramakele, the National Sevens coach.  He is confident that despite the short period the team has for training, the players will do well.

'We are hoping the little experience our players have will work for us because we have little time to practice,' he said. He explained that they will skip the basics during training sessions and focus on the technical and tactical aspects. 'We will focus on set-pieces as our scrums, rucks and line-outs because this is where we can gain possession,' he said.

Ramakele said the morning sessions' focus mainly on fitness at the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) gym, while in the afternoon, they shift to field training at the Molkey Sports Complex in Gaborone North.

As part of preparations, the team will play in a Sevens tournament hosted by Selebi-Phikwe based side, EMG Gunners on Saturday. 

Players favoured to make the final cut include Tshoganetso Katse, Eddie Oosthuizen, Kabo Batsile, and Emmanuel Masinki. Gilbert Machobane and Kaone Gopolang were left out due to injury.

Eddie Ernest who is carrying an injury, but is expected to recover, is in the provisional list.

Ernest is an experienced player and a specialist in line-outs and kick-offs. Last year Botswana came fourth in the Castle tournament after losing 5-0 to eventual winners, Zimbabwe. 

Meanwhile, Francistown side, Sharks hosted a Sevens tournament last weekend.

The Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Cheetahs won the tournament used to select the 20 member provisional national squad.