Tonde Chavhanga pained by Zimrugby

Sports Writer

He might have represented another country and sworn allegiance to its flag, but record-breaking Springbok Tonderai Chavhanga – even with the world at his feet – remains a Zimbabwean patriot through-and-through, proudly identifying with his homeland all the time.

This week, the former South Africa national team star winger – the fastest rugby player in the world at the peak of his athletic powers – poured out his heart on Zimbabwe’s disastrous World Cup qualification campaign, which has left the Sables without a win in three opening matches, and their aspirations in tatters.

Last weekend Zimbabwean rugby, which seldom hogs international limelight, courted the attention of even some of the most influential media outlets on the planet after the Sables were reportedly ill-treated on arrival in Tunisia for an important qualifying match – which they lost 18-14.

Now for Chavhanga, the Tunisia debacle alone cannot be blamed entirely for that result, the second defeat on the trot for Zimbabwe in the campaign. To the 34-year-old former Prince Edward School prodigy, Zimbabwe have simply been poor on the field.

“While the hotel incident in Tunisia was definitely not an ideal way to gear up for such an important match, it’s crucial not to use it as an excuse for Zimbabwe’s poor World Cup-qualifier performance,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

“We lacked structure, intensity, intent and the most basic skills that one would expect from an international rugby team. Based on the results, and the manner in which our boys performed, could Peter de Villiers have prepared the Sables better for the qualifiers? Perhaps so, after all Peter said that although he could not guarantee that we would win every game, he would make certain that the team would be ready. From a playing perspective, we need to build a better platform of attack through solid set-piece, put more emphasis on basic skills and employ a qualified strength and conditioning coach. From a pathway point of view, we need to develop coaches and academies.”

It is thoroughly understandable for Chavhanga to feel frustrated about the drop in standards throughout the structures of Zimbabwean rugby. No one is better qualified to lament the current state-of-affairs than a man like Chavhanga, who played throughout the golden era of Zimbabwean schoolboy rugby when schools from this country would constantly challenge and defeat some of the top 20 sides in South Africa.

“We have some of the most naturally-gifted athletes on the continent but our challenges remain,” continued Chavhanga.

“We have players and coaches that are ill-equipped, coupled with an underperforming school rugby systems. The will to succeed alone will not get Zimbabwe Rugby to where it needs to be, the crux of the matter is that we need to implement strategies holistically and grassroots to the Sables.

“We have traditionally produced very competitive schools but the reality is that our schools system is no longer as strong as it used to be. SACS, which does not feature among South Africa’s top 40 rugby schools, toured Zimbabwe and not only beat our top schools but also defeated the Zimbabwe under-18 team. In 1999 and 2000, the Prince Edward Tigers were the best rugby team in Zimbabwe. They beat some of the best South African school rugby teams including Paarl Boys High and won two from two at the South African Top 20 schools tournament. Yes, the players were talented but it was the coaching prowess of the late Ian Robertson, who moulded us into a formidable rugby team.

“Desire alone is not enough to get us out of this predicament and we will not fix our rugby by merely investing in the Sables. It’s imperative that we strategically fix our pathways to the national team. I know that we face several challenges but I believe that there are two key areas of focus we need get right.”

While in the past Zimbabwean schoolboy and youth rugby was far stronger than most of the countries on the continent, in fact only second to South Africa, it is no longer the case and nations like Namibia, Tunisia, Kenya and even Uganda regularly defeat our junior teams these days.

“First and foremost, it comes down to developing our coaches,” said Chavhanga.

“I stand to be corrected but I believe that there are only three coaches in the entire nation with a World Rugby level three coaching certificate. How can we expect our gems to be unearthed if we don’t have the requisite expertise?

“Every year, we lose our top players to South African-based rugby academies. And those that stay behind either completely stop playing or they play in the local league, which is uninspiring to say the least. The academy will ensure that our next generation of players are well-equipped from skills development, position-specific training, strength and conditioning as well as ensuring that there is a holistic approach for players to build towards life post-rugby.

“The rest of the continent is improving their rugby and we are being left behind in Zimbabwe – even though, only South Africa is ahead of us in terms of mass participation and we have been playing rugby much longer than other African nations.

In closing, it has been really encouraging to see one of Zimbabwe’s top law firms, Titan Law, and other sponsors raising a significant amount of capital for the purpose of supporting the national team. Africa is too rich to be poor and Zimbabwe has too much talent not make it to the Rugby World Cup. We owe it to ourselves, the supporters that continue to stand with the team and the sponsors that have dug deep into their pockets during these economically challenging times.”

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