Rhinos was established in 1997 as a breakaway of Gaborone Hogs by the likes of Mooketsi Ramakele, Nelson Bodibenyane, and Bob Lekan. The latter became the club's first chairperson. It has become a permanent feature in the local rugby calendar and despite recent challenges, Rhinos are charging back.
The first step towards achieving Rhinos' mission was to launch the new men’s kit sponsored by Elite Physiotherapy Clinic while Major Muscle and Fitness sponsored the women's team kit. Rhinos kicked off the New Year by winning the BRU knockout cup, with the men’s side beating cross-town rivals, Gaborone Hogs 10-7.
The side travelled to Jwaneng a fortnight ago to start the 2024 season against Jwaneng. Both the men's and women's sides registered victories over the miners. The men’s side has played one match and they are in position two with five points in the men’s 15s. The women’s side sits top of the 10s log table with three points. Rhinos president, Emmanuel Mabulana, told MmegiSport that when the club was formed, it was basically for the University of Botswana students and later expanded to the community. “Rhinos has always been a big movement.
I admired it from afar and when most of us started our rugby journey, we wanted to be associated with Rhinos. The downfall of any club is the failure to retain players. Playing rugby in Botswana is about passion, we are not being paid for it. Some players retired, some who came from other countries went back home,” he said. Mabulana said gradually the club fell apart especially the men’s side while the women’s team continued dominating. He said for a long time the women’s side competed with BDF Cheetahs and it was only in 2016 that BAC North came through.
BAC North is Rhinos' breakaway side. “Three years ago we decided to come together and rebuild this club. We had to find a solution to the problem, a new committee was put in office to lead the new path that we wanted to take. Success is starting to show because the men’s side has secured the Knock Out Cup,” he said. Mabulana explained that when they decided to drop from the Super League, Rhinos did not have players. “There is a rule set by the league committee that there should be a certain number of players of front rowers who should be there and on the bench.
We could not compete in the league hence we wrote to the league that we could not compete,” he said. He said the Elite Physiotherapy Clinic sponsorship is a perfect match because rugby is a contact sport and players have to be prepared physically, have a certain body to be able to take impact and know which supplements to take.
“Major Muscle will be able to sell our players supplements at a subsidised fee. Our physiotherapy partner will manage our sport injuries. Already we have players who are out due to injuries and they need to be rehabilitated to come back to play,” he said. When asked about the prospect of exposing players to banned substances, Mabulana said there is nothing much they can do about it. “The only thing we can do is to educate our players. When they want (to develop) muscle, they must be patient and eat right, the supplements are there to speed up a bit. You cannot be dependent on them because you risk taking banned substances. Major Muscle is selling legal supplements that can be taken by any athlete,” he said.
However, Mabulana said he could not rule out that they will have doping cases.
“You will never know what people do to enhance their performance. Maybe they want a shot in the national team,” Mabulana said. Rhinos have appointed one of the most experienced coaching staff in Tshoganetso Katse (men’s coach), Thalosang Malebang (assistant men’s coach), Thapelo Khanda (women’s coach), Koketso Ntshebe (women’s assistant coach), Kago Motlhalamme (coach’s manager) and Khina Masinki (head coach). Speaking to MmegiSport, Masinki said they have been consistent with the same message from three years ago in line with activities they have been doing on the ground. “The plan is to take Rhinos back to where it used to be. We did not fool ourselves that we wanted to win the league then. The three-year plan ends this season. We started with the return of the men’s team to finish in the top four, and we did that. Last season we wanted to win some sort of silverware and we won the bronze medal. This season, we want to win the league and it seems we are on the right track.
Our results are what we have been doing for the past three years,” Masinki said. He said winning the league is a product of good governance and coaches are where they should be. Tonic Ndoda joined Rhinos at the beginning of the year, while some players such as Oaitse Phiri and Motheo Lekang left. Masinki said Rhinos have talented players and all they need is support. “The reason we decided not to go out and recruit players is that when Rhinos does well, the national team also does well. We need to invest in players who are eligible to play for The Vultures,” he said.
