Despite the financial struggles that saw the club failing to honour two of its away games, new entrants of the Botswana Super Rugby League has made an impressive start after they defeated Jwaneng Wildebeests 15-12 in their first official match.
The Maun based club which was established last year used their home ground advantage to defeat their opponents in a match which was held on June 4th at Matshwane Primary School.
Great North will tomorrow host BDF Cheetahs at Matshwane Primary grounds. It is yet to be seen if the club will hold on to their form against a very tough team which has been in existence for several years now.
In an interview with Times Sports, the club’s coach, Batshabeng Keopetswe explained that the intention behind the formation of the club was to restore rugby in the northern part of the country. “Our match with Jwaneng Wildebeests was the first league match to be played in Maun after 15 years since the local rugby clubs in the area stopped functioning,” Keopetswe noted.
He said their hope is to see a number of rugby teams in Maun among them Maun dogs, Hungry Lions resurfacing and compete in the rugby league. Keopetswe has since called on former rugby players and aspiring rugby individuals to visit the team at their training grounds at Matshwane primary grounds.
Meanwhile the coach has explained that they were unable to honour their two away games against BAC North and UB Rhinos recently due to lack of finances to cover for their travel, accommodation and meals expenses other needs. He lamented that this has negatively affected their log standings as they had lost points for not honouring the matches. The club is currently standing at position 7 of the log with 4 points in the league which commenced last month.
“I appeal to the public to assist the team, if it was not for the financial constraints the team would be in a better position on the Botswana Rugby league fixtures,” Keopetswe appealed.
Keopetswe has however assured that despite their struggles and unsuccessful attempts to lobby for sponsorship, they intend to give their opponents a highly competitive season this year.
The on-going league started its calendar season with 9 teams comprising of BDF Cheetahs, The Great North, BU Ryders, Jaguars, UB Rhinos, Jwaneng Wildebeests, Gaborone Hogs, BUIST Buffalos and BAC North. BDF Cheetahs is currently leading the league with 14 points while BAC North is standing at the bottom of the log with zero points.
