Botswana Men Rugby 7s national team, ‘The Vultures,’ will seek to soar above the skies when they land at Monastir, Tunisia for the Rugby Africa 7s championships.
The championships will take place from the 13th to the 14th October and the local boys are expected to fly out to the games this coming Wednesday, October 10th. According to Sports Development Officer (SDO) at Botswana Rugby Union (BRU) Frederick Kebadiretse, BRU is confident that the team that will represent Botswana will do well.
“The team has young and energetic players who I have no doubt in their capabilities, the names of the final squad will be out soon,” he said.
He said they are very hopeful that the athletes are aware that this will be a stepping stone to Olympic Qualifiers hence will work hard.
He added that the championship is a tournament for the top 12 teams in Africa, adding that Botswana by virtue of partaking in it means lot to them.
“Taking part in the championships is the best, we have being doing relatively well for the past years, and we hope they keep up the good work,” said Kebadiretse.
As is the norm, the BRU SDO said the selectors have taken only the crème de la crème of local rugby and expectations are high they will represent the country well both in and outside the field of play.
“The athletes selected to represent the country at the games have what it takes to ensure that the nation is well represented,” he added.
In order to give the Vultures ‘a wind beneath their wings,’ the team has been involved in extensive preparations for the games. According to the BRU, the squad has been preparing for the past month and played in a friendly tournament in Rustenburg, South Africa earlier this month.
Moreover the team participated in the Klerksdorp 7s tournament last weekend in South Africa, which has been confirmed as the last preparatory tournament before they depart to Tunisia.
Botswana is in Pool A alongside top seeded African team Kenya and Morocco. They will clash with Kenya in the opening match of the tournament. Kebadiretse noted that it is very rare to be placed with top achieving teams.
“This will give our team a chance to measure their fitness level as well as competition skills, hence getting desired exposure for other games,” he added.
Moreover, Kebadiretse highlighted that he is happy the team will face a challenging team as this will give them a chance to show their potential and explore their abilities.
The team will be led by Coach Andrew Paxinos, assisted by Kabo Batsile and Matthew Gibson as the team manager.
