In the other battle, defending champions, Gaborone Hogs face BDF Cheetahs for a place in the final. All eyes will be on Wildebeests who have emerged as brilliant newcomers in the league. However, it will not be a walk in the park as UB Rhinos have found their scoring boots and are serious title contenders. A clash between Rhinos and Wildebeests is a close call and it is likely to be won by a tight margin. Wildebeests have caused mayhem in their first season, beating powerhouses like Hogs and Jaguars. Their tail is wagging and they have a decent group of players. For the first time in many years, the league championship is not a one-horse race. Speaking to MmegiSport, Wildebeests coach, Mathews Porogo, said they are going into the semi-finals with minor injuries. “I am aware that most are predicting that we are the favourite to win the title, but you must understand that at the beginning of the year, we did not participate in the BRU Knock Out Cup because we did not have enough players to make a team.
From there the management made a decision that we must compete in the league and they will support us to find enough players to make a team,” he said. Porogo said they went to Gantsi to recruit players and imported four players from Zimbabwe, n amely, Happy Zhou (prop), Marlon Guwuriro (hooker), Scotty Patson (prop) and Admire Shonhiwa (flank). He said they have spent three years without playing the league and coming back, the focus was to participate, not to challenge for honours and being in the top four is a huge achievement. “We are shy to say that we want to challenge for the cup although the management wants it, it depends on the league experience and how long you have played together as a team.
