All national teams to benefit from new coach

Jeff Murimbechi Sports Correspondent
ZIMBABWE Rugby Union vice-president Colleen de Hong believes the coming on board of Grant Mitchell as the strength and conditioning coach will not only benefit the Sables but all the national teams. Over the past few weeks, the Sables have been undergoing fitness training under Mitchell who takes over from South Africa-based Nico de Deviliers, who had a short stint with the side.

De Jong said the union engaged the services of the former Cheetahs players and strength and conditioning expert Mitchell and the Innovate High Performance in its endeavor to elevate the standard of the Sables’ fitness in line with international standards.

“The Zimbabwe Rugby Union is cognisant of the need to condition players and are very pleased to be able to introduce a strength and conditioning programme based on players specific needs in the lead up to international competitions,” she said.

Mitchell is a former player who understands the demands and the intensive physicality of modern rugby. He believes that the programme will help the team in their preparations for major international events.

“Rugby is a collision sport and being able to handle the associated physical, physiological and psychological pressures is key to progressing safely through the ranks as a player. Strength and conditioning is a key component to this process and it is important to develop the base work from a young age.

“Young players within the Long Term Athlete Development continuum should be learning fundamental movements that are body weight based.

“The benefit to this is not only to rugby but to a more effective person, and an opportunity to shift mindsets of young people from being inactive and leading a sedentary lifestyle, to one of movement health and functionality,” said Mitchel.

Other nations such as Kenya have benefited from such fitness regimes as seen by their Sevens team which visited Zimbabwe during Spar Rugby Sevens tournament earlier this year.

South Africa maintains a strong heritage of hard line rugby because fitness and conditioning are paramount to development of players at a young age.

Harare Sports Club utility back, Teddy “Boxer” Whata is happy with the programme and is already reaping the benefits from the training sessions he has had along with the rest of the training squad and he said: “It isn’t an easy programme and the session require a lot of hard work but I am very happy because it is helping me with my strength work.”