BY MAGRETH RUZVIDZO
Rainbow Amateur Netball League (RANL) saw an entertaining start to its league, which finally took off on Saturday after a false start due to a delay in getting clearance from the Sports and Recreation Commission.
However, for the Harare bubble, Rio Zim failed to pitch up, leaving ZRP Mambas and Support Unit playing against each other.
RANL secretary-general Moses Gukurume said they were looking forward to a successful season which would help in reinstating fitness among the athletes.
“We are very excited. I think it is not only us administrators, but also the athletes themselves. It is a very exciting development and actually it is going to bring back some fitness that they used to have two years back and probably bring a bit of remuneration into their pockets.”
Gukurume said the league anticipated challenges since all teams were coming from a long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a slow start to the games because as you can see we were expecting three teams to be here (Harare), unfortunately Rio Zim did not manage to come but that’s the beginning anyway,” Gukurume said.
He said they would inquire with Rio Zim on why they failed to turn up.
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“We have to engage them and see their challenges and we have got teams that have noted that they have the funding to travel, so we will keep on engaging those that cannot afford to travel and see if we can replace them,” he said.
“It’s a big challenge when it comes to featuring and as pointed out earlier on, this is a start to a season that came after a very long time so you can expect those teething problems. But anyway we’ll see in the coming weeks what will transpire.”
“Everyone is trying to pick up their pieces, you can easily see even the match fitness, the athletes themselves, they are still below the standard that we expect. We’ll engage the competitiveness of teams like Mambas, Correctional and other big teams.”
ZRP Mambas defeated Support Unit 60-14 while in Bulawayo, Khami won both their matches as did Glow Petroleum in Kwekwe.
Results
Harare bubble
- ZRP Mambas 60 vs Support Unit 14
- Bulawayo bubble
- Khami 67 vs Pistons 16
- Khami 33 vs Hwange 41
- Hwange 64 vs Pistons 20
Kwekwe bubble
- Glow Petroleum 127 vs Hyfler 6
- Hyfler 34 vs Golden Valley 80
- Glow Petroleum 82 vs Golden Valley 13
Mutare bubble
- Tenax 66 vs Ruwa 13
- Tenax 35 vs Correctional Queens 51
- Correctional Queens 61 vs Ruwa 11
Follow Magreth on Twitter @MagrethRuzvidzo
