Lesotho claims silver at Regional Rugby Sevens in Burundi

Likatola captain Samuel Takama...

Lesotho claimed silver at the 2018 Rugby Africa Regional Sevens South tournament on Sunday after falling 15-5 to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the final.

The result, however, wasn’t enough for Likatola to advance to next year’s Africa Men’s Sevens championship.

The four-team Regional Sevens South tournament was held in the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, on Saturday and Sunday.

It featured hosts Burundi, Congo Brazzaville, DRC and Lesotho.

It was one of two regional rugby sevens tournament organised by Rugby Africa in September to select teams to be promoted to the 2019 Africa Men’s Sevens and then contest qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The other tournament was held in Ivory Coast earlier last month and was contested by eight West African nations – Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea, Niger and Mali.

In addition to being promoted to the 2019 Africa Men’s Sevens competition and the 2020 Olympic qualifiers, the Regional Sevens tournaments represented an opportunity for Rugby Africa’s technical staff to evaluate and scout talent.

On Saturday, Lesotho beat hosts Burundi 45-0 but lost 12-7 to Congo Brazzaville and 26-5 to the DRC.

The results of the first day resulted in Lesotho facing Congo Brazzaville and DRC playing Burundi in the semi-finals Lesotho beat Congo Brazzaville 17-0 to reach the final. However, Likatola fell 15-5 to DRC in the title decider.

Rugby Africa’s Sevens tournament is named “Africa Men’s Sevens” and is held every year to crown an African champion.

Lesotho’s Results:

Day 1:

Burundi 0-45 Lesotho

DRC 26-5 Lesotho

Lesotho 7-12 Congo Brazzaville

Day 2:

Semi-finals:

Lesotho 17-0 Congo Brazzaville

Finals:

DRC 15-5 Lesotho

Lesotho Rugby granted full membership by Rugby Africa

A year of success for Likatola and Lesotho rugby...

The Federation of Lesotho Rugby has been granted a full membership into the continent’s governing body, Rugby Africa.

Lesotho’s membership was confirmed last weekend during Rugby Africa’s 12th annual general assembly that was held in Botswana.

FLR president Fetang Selialia represented Lesotho at the meeting and by receiving full member status, the association has capped an impressive four years since it was formed in 2012.

Just two years ago, Lesotho was accepted as an affiliate member of Rugby Africa at its 11th general assembly meeting. Now in 2016, the country is a full member and will benefit from improved competition and development programmes.

“Since it has been two years since (the) Lesotho rugby union has been affiliated to Rugby Africa and considering the quality of their application, we see no objection to grant full membership to the union and look forward to being in support of Lesotho Rugby and taking rugby to greater heights in the country,” Rugby Africa said in accepting Lesotho.

“We thank the board of the union for their excellent work and cooperation and welcome Lesotho rugby union as a full member of Rugby Africa.”

FLR’s application was no doubt helped by the positive performances of the national side, Likatola.

In May, Lesotho finished third at the Africa Cup Division 2 championship in Rwanda before ending 2016 with a notable 31-11 away victory over Malawi in August.

In total, Lesotho has won four of its seven international matches since its debut in 2014.

Lesotho’s international results:

Malawi 11-31 Lesotho (August, 2016) Burundi 3-6 Lesotho (May, 2016) Lesotho 5-41 Botswana (April, 2016) Lesotho 13-10 Swaziland (July, 2015) Botswana 44-3 Lesotho (June, 2014) Swaziland 13-0 Lesotho (May, 2014) Lesotho 5-3 Swaziland (February, 2014)

Summer Slam Charity tournament roars into life

KTA and BBH will renew their rivalry at the Summer Slam Tournament

Nine men’s teams and four women’s sides will go head-to-head at this year’s Summer Slam Charity Tournament.

The competition will feature guest teams from South Africa and Swaziland and it will take centre stage on Saturday and Sunday at the Lehakoe Club. The annual tournament aims to give back to the community and introduce basketball to the youth.

13 teams have confirmed their participation in the 2016 Summer Slam Charity Tournament.

Six teams from outside the country including Swaziland’s Mbabane Raptors and South Africa’s Jozi Nuggets are expected to grace the event.

Lesotho’s contingent of team, meanwhile, will include national champions KTA All-Stars, Bokamoso, Lichocha Shooting Rifles and current National Basketball League leaders Bashana Baheso.

The champions in both the men’s and women’s competitions will win trophies and medals sponsored by Sprite.

Summer Slam Charity Tournament teams:

Men

Phoenix Flame (South Africa)

Bokamoso (Lesotho)

Bloem Alumni (South Africa)

Bashana Baheso (Lesotho)

KTA All-Stars (Lesotho)

Mbabane Raptors (Swaziland)

Goodfellas (South Africa)

Lichocha (Lesotho)

Jozi Nuggets (South Africa)

Women

Phoenix Flame (South Africa)

Bokamoso (Lesotho)

BBH (Lesotho)

Shooting Stars (Lesotho)

Lesotho's Likatola look to Asia, Mathibelle ready for Soweto Marathon

Likatola on the rise

The Lesotho national rugby team looks set to continue its rapid rise by playing two test matches in Asia next year.

The matches are an effort by the Federation of Lesotho Rugby (FLR) to meet requirements set by rugby’s governing body World Rugby that member nations should play outside their continent in 2017.

The federation is targeting Indonesia and Malaysia as possible opponents. The FLR is also looking at countries in the Middle East as possible opposition. Lesotho rugby enjoyed a memorable 2016. In May, Likatola finished third at the Africa Cup Division 2 championship in Rwanda. Likatola then ended their year with an impressive 31-11 victory over Malawi away from home in August.

Playing in Asia would be the next step in Likatola’s rapid rise. In total, Lesotho has won four of its seven international matches since its debut in 2014.

Tšepo Mathibelle ready for Soweto Marathon

Moving to athletics and Lesotho marathon specialist Tšepo Mathibelle says his preparations for next month’s Soweto Marathon are on track.

Mathibelle is aiming to continue Lesotho’s good track record at the event. In 2014, Motlokoa Nkhabutlane finished second while Lebenya Nkoka came fifth last year.

The prestigious South African marathon will take place on November 6.

Last month Mathibelle finished second in the 21 kilometre half-marathon at the eThekwini Township2Township Marathon in Durban. The 2016 Rio Olympian said his run in Durban was a timely confidence booster ahead of the Soweto Marathon.

Vodacom Premier League and Likatola return

Victorious conquests
The Lesotho rugby side after their 31-11 win over Malawi

The Vodacom Premier League will return to action this weekend after a week off because of the international break. The pick of this weekend’s ties will be Lioli’s clash against LDF where the champions will be looking to bounce back after a surprise 1-0 loss to LMPS on the opening weekend of the season.

The league will resume with its week three fixtures after this past weekend’s second round was postponed.

Other interesting ties this weekend are Bantu’s visit to Likhopo on Saturday while Matlama host LMPS on Sunday.

Staying with football and the launch of the A-Division’s Splitz Benefit Cup has been postponed. The first division’s showpiece tournament was supposed to have taken place last month, however, sponsors Splitz Marketing and Services have postponed until further notice as they are still finalising prizes for the competition.

It is unclear when the tournament, which was launched last year, will take place because the A-Division league season is set to begin this weekend.

The A-Division, which is divided into two streams of ten teams, will run until April next year with the two winners of the respective streams gaining promotion to the Vodacom Premier League. This year the season will kick off with the southern stream on Saturday before the northern stream opens on Sunday.

Finally, to rugby and the Lesotho national side Likatola is back in the country after a brilliant 31-11 win over Malawi last week. Since their first match in 2014, Likatola have amassed an impressive record. Likatola have now played seven international games winning four and losing just three.

MSC Shorts: Leslie Notši signs new Kick4Life deal

Man in charge... Leslie Notši renews with Kick4Life 

Leslie Notši has signed a new two-year contract with Kick4Life. Notši’s new deal will see him remain at the Old Europa club until 2018. The former national coach joined Kick4Life last November and masterminded a turnaround that saw the side finish sixth in the Vodacom Premier League in only their second season in the top-flight.

Talking to kick4life.org, Notši said: “It’s great to be involved in Kick4Life; they are an on-going project that looks promising because they have a clear vision so that made it easy for me to agree on continue working with the club.”

The 52 year-old Notši has also previously held the reins at Matlama, Lioli and South African first division outfit Mthatha Bucks.

Staying with football, four lucky supporters will be in Namibia for a week to support Lesotho at the 2016 COSAFA Castle Cup courtesy of Castle Lager.

The fans are from the four clubs that contested last November’s Independence Cup – Bantu, Lioli, Matlama and LCS. The lucky supporters are Ramosoeu Fako (Bantu), Tanki Mabutsi (Lioli), Mputseli Mpoba (Matlama) and Motsoeli Tau (LCS).

Finally, Lesotho’s national rugby team will face Malawi in an international friendly in August. The match will be played in Malawi. Likatola will be looking to build on their showing at last month’s Africa Cup Division 2 tournament in Rwanda. Likatola finished third at the four-team championship featuring Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo after beating Burundi 6-3 in the third-place playoff. The win was Lesotho’s first on foreign soil. Victory over Malawi would strengthen Likatola’s case to be promoted from Division 2 to the first tier of rugby nations on the continent.

Lesotho set for rugby's Africa Cup 2 Centre

New additions: the Federation of Lesotho Rugby

The Lesotho national rugby team, Likatola, will compete at the Rugby Africa Africa Cup 2 Centre tournament in Kigali, Rwanda in May. The championship is for second tier nations in the central region of Africa and Lesotho has been added to the group by Rugby Africa, the continent’s governing body

The competition will run from May 15 to 21.

Lesotho will compete against Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and hosts Rwanda.

Next month Likatola host Botswana an international Test match on April 30.

It will be the team’s first match since a 13-10 win over Swaziland 13-10 last July at the Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena.