Strike locks out Botswana from international rugby

Zilwele Khumalo, the Botswana Rugby Union (BRU) development officer said yesterday that the strike has affected the game badly at the grassroots level, hence they cannot raise age-limit national teams.  BRU gets most of its youth players from schools where teachers have joined the strike with adverse effects on sports activities. The BRU has felt the blow as the annual rugby league that incorporates both government and private schools has stopped. 

Khumalo said even if the strike ends, it will be difficult to re-launch the league as teachers have demanded that they be remunerated for extracurricular activities.   He lamented that the strike is going to disrupt the consistency that had been maintained for development rugby in the country.  He said the league is not only used to select national Under-16 and Under-18 sides but to bridge the gap between development and senior rugby.