Leemisa Thuseho
MABOTE Beavers were on Saturday crowned champions of the Lesotho Rugby Sevens tournament in Maseru.
The finals were played at Mabote Playground and Beavers came first after urging Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) side, Liqhomane 10-7.
The victory saw Beavers winning their third major honour in local competitions. They first won the sevens league competition cup in 2015 before winning the 15-aside league title in 2016.
Over the weekend, the Letsielo Mabitle coached side advanced to final after edging Warriors 14-12 in the semifinals.
As for Liqhomane they saw themselves in the finals after thumping Academy 17-0.
Warriors beat Academy 19-7 in the third-place play-off.
In an interview with the Lesotho Times last weekend, Mabitle said apart from winning the title, he was happier to win it with an under-20 squad.
“This tournament was meant for senior teams, but I told the organisers that we didn’t have a senior team and they allowed us use our under 20 players,” Mabitle said.
“I am happy for the young boys who have won their first title.
“I started working with this team four years ago with players aged 16 at the time. This was after we had dissolved the team which won the sevens league in 2015 and the 15-aside league in 2016.
“These are the products of our Mabote Rugby School of Excellence where we have teams for as young as 10.”
Before the weekend finals, the only team that was giving him sleepless nights was Warriors, he said.
“After advancing to semifinals, I only worked hard to plan for Warriors. Liqhomane were not a problem because we have always beaten them in sevens competitions.
“This is just a start. This year we want to win every competition including the 15-aside league. For the past four years, we have only been participating in the leagues to keep our status as we were still building our team. But this time around, we are here to compete. The weekend win indicates that the boys are ready to battle for titles,” Mabitle said.
