By KALUMIANA KALUMIANA –
‘MEN At Work’ Digger coach Lawrence Njobvu is confident the Kitwe rugby giants will be championship material for the 2016 Zambia Rugby Union (ZRU) national rugby league Division 1 season.
Diggers struggled to compete in the 2015 season due to clubhouse wrangles and were later hit by the death of head coach Robertson ‘Plough’ Kangongwe in midway through the year.
Njobvu said in an interview in Kitwe yesterday that Diggers began their 2016 pre-season training in December and that the biggest challenge for the league title will come from champions Red Arrows and high-flying upstarts Nkwazi.
He also discounted any threat from promoted arch-rivals Kitwe Playing Fields (KPF), who are returning to top-flight rugby this season for the first time in 16 years.
“Actually we sat down as a technical bench and we identified that Nkwazi and Arrows will be a challenge for us this season. Nkwazi in that they are technical while Arrows are a physical side.
“KPF are too small for us. They are not a threat to us. It is very evident from the games we played them last year when we beat them. They are just stars in name,” he said.
Njobvu said he could not say much about their arch-foes ‘Powerhouse’ Lusaka who also went through some difficult times last season.
He added that with the return of senior players, including player-coach Patrick Chanda to first-team action, Diggers would hold their own starting with the season-opening Nchanga 10’s tournament in March.
“Grant Mwila, Longa Chikwamo, Sam Lukonde, Patrick Chanda are all back while Kabwela Mulenga who had an operation is also back. Their experience will add some potency to the team,” Njobvu said.
Diggers ended the 2015 season in a distant fifth place with 25 points while Arrows were runaway winners with 62 points followed by Nkwazi on 47, Chibuluma third on 43 while Green Eagles were fourth on 36 points with Lusaka further down in sixth place on 24 points.
Mufulira and Prisons were relegated on 19 and six points and will be replaced by Green Buffaloes and KPF.
“We started training about a month ago. We need to be early because this year we are challenging for the league title.
We have to win the Nchanga 10’s to set the tone and send a message to the other teams,” Njobvu said.