•MULEYA

By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE and ELIAS CHIPEPO –

NCHANGA Rugby club will tomorrow be a hive of activity as the Zambia Rugby Union (ZRU) teams will be locking horns in the season-opening Atlas Copco Nchanga 10s tournament in Chingola.
Green Buffaloes, who won the tournament last year, will be looking forward to replicate their 2013 display to retain the title they snatched from the ‘Men at work,’ Diggers.
The Nchanga 10s will be the first Cup tournament ahead of the 2014 rugby season that commences on March 8.
ZRU head of competitions committee Moono Muleya said in an interview yesterday that the tournament that will see league A and B teams compete for the top prize has been sponsored by Atlas Copco ambia Limited.
“We will be having the Nchanga 10s tournament in Chingola on Saturday. This will be the opening tournament of the 2014 season and we want everyone to come and watch the games at Nchanga rugby club,” she said.
Muleya said winners of the tournament will walk away with K5000 while the runner up prize has been pegged at K2500.
The plate winners will carry home K1500, with the plate runners up going away with K1000.
And more than 200 children from Lusaka schools and surrounding communities are this weekend expected to converge at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) in Lusaka for the launch of the Zambian leg of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Get Into Rugby project.
Realtime Zambia, Radisson Blu Hotel and Interbrands Investments and Distributors are the three companies that have so far confirmed sponsorship of the event which will be coordinated by Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) development officer, Erick Situma.
ZRU president Martin Musunka confirmed yesterday that Realtime, an internet service provider (ISP) has sponsored kit for the participating children and officials and Radisson Blu Hotel will provide accommodation for Situma for four nights.
Musunka said Interbrands Investments and Distributors, a subsidiary of Kazuma Enterprises will be the official sponsor of soft drinks for all the participants.
Interbrands representative, Lea Matejova said in a statement yesterday that her organization was committed to supporting youth development and confirmed the partnership with the ZRU for this weekend’s IRB event.
She said Interbrands would deliver 75 cases of 330 milli-litres of soft drinks for all the 200 participating children for two days and four cases of 2-litre soft drinks for the organizing committee and coaches.
The aim of the programme is to encourage players of all ages to Try, Play and Stay in Rugby, with a target of attracting one million new players and 15,000 new coaches and referees over the next four years.