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Age cheating allegations rock schools rugby

Sport
Prince Edward School first team rugby coach, Shaun De Souza has made age cheating allegations against today’s opponents and arch rivals, Churchill Boys School ahead of their clash at the Dairibord Rugby Festival this afternoon.

Prince Edward School first team rugby coach, Shaun De Souza has made age cheating allegations against today’s opponents and arch rivals, Churchill Boys School ahead of their clash at the Dairibord Rugby Festival this afternoon.

BY Kennedy Nyavaya

Tigers in action recently
Tigers in action recently

The two old foes have maintained a tense rivalry over the years, with their clashes producing some of the most bruising contests in schools rugby.

Speaking to NewsDaySport yesterday, De Souza said the plea to have age records of Bulldogs players checked by the sport’s regulation bodies has fallen on deaf ears.

“We keep talking about it (age cheating), but no one seems to be interested in looking into it,” he said. “We know they have changed birth certificates for some boys and it is not good for the game at the end of the day.”

Last year, the Tigers lost to the resolute Geoff Madhake-coached Bulldogs in a tightly-contested match that could have gone either side.

De Souza, who is also Sables Under-20 team coach, said he has prepared the team to ignore the age issue.

He believes last year’s defeat will also not play into his players’ minds, as they seek revenge this afternoon.

Madhake, however, rubbished the allegations challenging De Souza to back his claims with evidence.

“If he can pinpoint at particular players, whom he says are cheating, he is welcome to do so and should go to the school administration to verify their records,” he said.

“I have been a coach for years and why would I keep the documents away from them and why are they raising the concerns now when we are left with little time before the match?”

He said his team was ready to inflict pain on their adversaries.

“We prepare for a win all the time although sometimes things may not happen the way we want, but we are ready for them.”

The match, which is scheduled for 4:10pm at the Jubilee Field brings the curtain down on the week-long festival.