The series will be used to kick off the 2025 rugby season. Jaguars' chairperson, Feddy Mutenheri told MmegiSport that the union communicated about the trip on Tuesday, which was late as travelling means getting sponsors involved. Mutenheri said he has communicated the matter to the rest of the team that they will not be travelling. He said it is better for them to focus on the league than the 7s series. Responding to Jaguars’ decision, BRU secretary-general, Osi Kopano said the club had not made any official statement, which meant that he will take the decision as a rumour.
He said they had furnished all the stakeholders with the BRU calendar for the year. “We expected them to react on it but the league committee did the best they could. Also note that one of their members is part of the committee league. They knew that they are playing in Palapye since last week. Ask them how many games they have travelled to outside Gaborone, in their entire history. They rarely travel for away games. Even last year, they made stories why they could not travel outside Gaborone. You should also ask them why they went and played in South Africa without authorisation from BRU or Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC),” he said. Mutenheri said they did not inform the BRU about their trip to Zeerust due to what transpired last year. "In 2024, we wrote to Kopano informing him about our trip to Zimbabwe. On the eve of the trip, he had not responded, only to respond after we returned. So, we knew he was going to do the same thing. He must also realise that it is expensive to travel to Palapye than Zeerust," Mutenheri said. He added they have long requested for the fixtures but only received draft fixtures. "I cannot give my sponsors draft fixtures. Before Kopano talks about us, he should put his house in order. Clubs bend backwards for the BRU," he said.
BRU is starting the season with the 7s in line with Rugby Africa calendar which starts with the series as a way of conditioning players. Meanwhile, UB Rhinos coach, Tshoganetso Katse said he was not sure if the club will travel to Palapye because their pre-season started late. He said the main reason was that the University of Botswana enrolment was concluded late, which affected the club. Katse said the announcement of the 7s tournament came as a surprise because normally the season starts with the Knock Out Cup. He added that their preparations were on 15s and they were to shift to the 7s later. “We have new young players, senior players have retired, which means we are going back to the drawing board. As an academy we are used to developing players. The plan this season was to do better than last season, where we won the Knock Out Cup, reached the league final and also reached Gabs 7s finals. We intend to challenge for the league title, most teams were shocked by our performance last year,” Katse said.
BDF Cheetahs spokesperson, Modesto Madzambi said the 7s Series is a good arrangement because clubs can field the number of teams they want. There is no joining fee and BRU will meet clubs halfway when it comes to costs. He explained that they are training in both sections as after the 7s tournament is completed, it will be followed by 15s. “There are only two tournaments, it will not affect our players that much. We have recruited new players. Almost 60% of players we will be using this season will be new players. We have released 10 players due to age and injuries. There are a few senior players left such as Ketshidile Matenanga,” he said. Some of Cheetahs players who have retired include Kagiso Molefhi, Mathews Masike, and Mahuta Setlhako.
