Maseru Select will return to the Griffons Rugby Eastern Free State League in March |
The Maseru
Select rugby team will once again take part in the Griffons Rugby Eastern Free
State League in 2018.
The 10-team
championship which is contested by clubs in South Africa’s Free State province will
start on March 17 and run until June.
The invitation
from the league is a welcome boost for Lesotho rugby.
Maseru Select is a selection squad made
up of the best players from clubs in the country’s top-flight, the Lesotho
Rugby Championship.
The teams are Maseru
Warriors, Mabote Beavers, National University of Lesotho Spears, LDF Liqhomane and Giants Rugby.
Maseru Select
competed in the Griffons league last year after skipping the 2016 edition and
the outing is good news for Lesotho with the national team preparing for the Africa
Cup Bronze Cup in May where Likatola
will battle Mauritius, Rwanda and hosts Ghana.
Federation of
Lesotho Rugby (FLR) secretary general Litšitso Motšeremeli said competing in
the Griffons Rugby Eastern Free State League against experienced South African
opposition has played a major role in improving Lesotho players’ and providing them
exposure to international competition.
Lesotho first
participated in the league in 2013 and during that time Likatola have risen from affiliate status to Rugby Africa’s lowest
tier – the Division 2 Cup – and now to the Bronze Cup. In total, Lesotho has
won six of its nine test matches since its international debut in 2012.
“Since the FLR
was formed (in 2011), this league is one of the platforms we have used to groom
our players, even the current Likatola players gained their competence through
the league. Therefore we are happy that we are back again,” Motšeremeli said.
Maseru Select
will play their Griffons League home games in Ladybrand and Motšeremeli said
this year the FLR will be looking to put together a younger squad in order to
start grooming the next group of stars for Likatola.
Maseru Select have
also received an invitation to the annual Welkom Easter Rugby tournament to be
played over the Easter holidays.
The competition
is hosted by the Bronville Pioneer Club in Free State and last year Maseru Select
finished second losing to the home side, Bronville Pioneer, in the final.
The upcoming
duo of tournaments will help Lesotho’s preparations for the Rugby Africa Bronze
Cup scheduled for May 9 to 12. Likatola
assistant coach Morapeli Motaung said the high-level of competition coming up
is a timely boost.
“The league
consists of highly competitive clubs from South Africa and I believe they are of
the right standard to give our players a good challenge,” Motaung said.
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