Ugb› impro˜ing †espite chaŽŽenges Ǧ

E›noŽ†s

MBABANE – Enthusiastic!

The national rugby team coach and head of training development and education, Steve Reynolds, could just only describe the first games of the Eswatini Rugby Union (ERU) Sevens Series trial league as full of enthusiasm. The first games were played over the past weekend.

The coach who graced the games with his presence said although the players seemed rusty after a long layoff which was almost two and half years, the players got better on the day as the games went on. Reynolds believes the players would improve as the league continues.

This trial league is expected to conclude around October 8, this year. The coach also mentioned that programmes that had been put up in place to revive rugby in the country after this long break such as the community clinics were yielding positive results.

Improving

“Community work is going well. The number of centres are increasing, and the understanding of the game and skill level is improving dramatically,” Reynolds said.

He further said the refereeing course that the union implemented earlier this year had benefited referees. He said the new referees were keen and willing to learn while they also had the ability to handle games correctly and safely, and improving in each game.

The coach, however, decried the long COVID-19 break saying it was devastating. He said players and coach’s development programmes had to be put on hold. He highlighted that rugby development was a long term programme, calling for constant nurturing of talent to bear fruits.