Chidhakwa lauds female talent

Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter

Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) president Aaron Jani was appointed to one of the sub-committees of the newly launched Women’s Rugby Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee and its sub-committees seek to enhance the development of women rugby across Africa and also promote gender equality.

Jani was appointed chairperson of the finance, development and competitions sub-committee.

Participation of women in the local game remains low, especially at senior level, despite sound grassroots structures that have been established by the ZRU.

Uptake of the game in schools is fair and it has also spread to high-density schools in Mufakose, Dzivaresekwa and Glen Norah.

National Under-20 coach Tangisayi Chidhakwa is convinced local talent remains untapped “because of financial issues”.

“The Zimbabwe Rugby Union gives us all the support and the appointment of Jani into the top echelons of African women rugby should open the doors for local players.

“Zimbabwe has got a lot of untapped rugby talent and we would want to really make sure that the nation knows about the female child who plays rugby,” Chidhakwa told The Sunday Mail Sport.

He replaced Nsikelelo “Sykes” Sibanda as the women Under-20 coach in November 2020.

“The female rugby game is really not that popular, so we are trying to appeal for support so that whoever hears about it and wants to give a hand can come over so that we further grow the sport.

“The uptake in schools is basically reasonable; we have schools from the ghetto like in Glen Norah, Mufakose and Dzivaresekwa.

“We also have the likes of Goromonzi, Vainona, Girls High, just to mention a few schools which play rugby.

“At primary school we are promoting what we call tag rugby, which is the non-contact version of rugby. It enables the kids to just run and attack space and to know the basics of rugby.”

There are also many schools playing competitive rugby at high school, including senior clubs in Harare (about seven), Bulawayo (two) and Mutare (one).

Victoria Falls and Hwange have one team each.

Chidhakwa believes there could have been more teams if the game had support from the corporate world.

The Under-20 side is set to travel to South Africa, but the dates have not yet been confirmed.

“Currently, our fixture of the year is the game against South Africa, but we don’t want to play against South Africa only. We would like to play the likes of Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar or Uganda.”

“The corporates can come in as well and give a hand in helping the girl-child because the biggest challenge we face even at club level when dealing with the girl-child is transport money. It will be great if the corporate world comes in and aid us on that one because at youth level we have gems.

“I think the most successful team out of the teams that go to South Africa for the Craven Week is the female Under-18; they have been doing well for the past five or six years.”

Chidhakwa started coaching in 2008 at Trust Academy before he moved to Queen Elizabeth School the following year.

“Queen Elizabeth School was my first experience working with the girl-child,” he says.

“In 2014, Old Mutual came knocking and introduced high-density coaching schemes in the ghettos and that’s when we started developing the girl-child in Chitungwiza, and I am proud to say that we have had two girls – Cynthia Maungwa and Erica Meki – who made the national Under-18 team.

“They also made the Under-20 team and one of them graduated into the senior Sables team, and they are also in the setup of the Lady Cheetahs as well,” Chidhakwa said.