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Grace Chingoma-Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe senior men’s rugby team’s preparations for the 2023 Rugby World Cup qualifiers received a huge boost when Delta Beverages unveiled a US$35 000 cash injection to assist in their quest for glory.
The integrated beverage company made the announcement on Friday during the launch of a new beer — Sable Lager — that they are looking to partner the rugby team, which is also known as the Sables, on their road to the 2023 World Cup.
The African qualifiers will be played in France in July. Before the qualifiers, the players are expected to fine-tune their preparations at the Currie Cup that will be staged in Cape Town, South Africa, and Zimbabwe will participate under the Goshawks name.
Some of the players, who were in Harare, left yesterday for Cape Town to begin their preparations for the Currie Cup. The camp is expected to start in earnest today.
And the team received a timely boost which was presented to the Zimbabwe Rugby Union on Friday evening during the launch of the Sable Lager.
Delta Beverages also committed to start a journey with the Sables and help them in their quest to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup finals.
The once-off payment, which was made on Friday, is meant to assist the Sables during their 2023 Rugby World Cup qualifiers campaign.
Zimbabwe Rugby Union chief executive, Sifiso Made, said the funds will help offset some of their costs.
“On Friday during the launch of Sable Lager, we received a cheque of US$35 000 to assist us with this campaign.
“We are ecstatic. The preparations are costly, we have flying costs, accommodation costs, and some stipends for the players. So it goes a long way in meeting part of the budget. So this funding, against other funding like from other partners such as the Nedbank Bank, will go a long way in helping us in our preparations for the World Cup qualifiers,” said Made.
Delta Beverages have always been an all-weather friend for local rugby.
“They have supported us with the National Rugby League, and they are also supporting our (rugby sevens team) Cheetahs. We are going to France and they have started a journey with us. They have launched Sable Lager, and they find it fit to say ‘let’s sponsor the national team.”
“We have eight to 10 weeks of Currie Cup as Goshawks because we want to pick the best team and look for the right combinations, so we are using it as a preparatory event,” said Made.
Faced with a huge budget for the qualifiers’ preparation, Made commended efforts by all the partners that have chipped in with assistance.
Further costs that they have to grapple with include the medical consumables and equipment as well as part-time technical experts during the South African camp.
After the Cape Town tournament, the team is expected to return home before their final departure for France.
A final squad of 30 members, including about 10 members of the technical team, will then depart for Europe for the African qualifiers that will run from July 1 to 10.
However, during the build-up games, the coaches need a larger squad to work with, with at least each position covered by two players.
Delta Lagers Marketing Director, Irimayi Muzorewa, said they were excited to launch the Sable Lager that will also mark their partnership with the Sables rugby team.
“To our partners on the sports field, the Zimbabwe Rugby Union, our years of sponsorship within the sporting arena have also changed the face of sport in our country.
“We have watched in delight as teams and players, with our support, have been groomed for both local and international success and benefited from opportunities for sales and visibility of our brands as fans come together to support their favourite teams.
“Our Sable Lager journey with The Sables starts here, and we look forward to partnering the 15s rugby team — The Sables — in their own journey to make history with a qualification for the 2023 Rugby World Cup,” said Muzorewa.
Meanwhile, four Zimbabwean rugby referees have been given the opportunity to officiate at one of South Africa’s top schools rugby festivals — the Amajuba Week at Volksrust in Mpumalanga.
The quintet of Nkosana Nkomazana, Patience Tsamphwayi, Shemeah Ndlovu, Leo and Noah Maunganirwa will be part of the week-long school’s rugby festival.
Nkomazana and Tsamphwayi left the country yesterday to join South Africa-based Pumas referees Ndlovu and the Maunganirwa siblings for the week-long schools rugby fiesta.
The exchange programme will see the referees being trained on the new trends of rugby officiating.
The Zimbabwe Rugby Referees Society said they are very happy that they have some officials at the ongoing festival.
“We are very happy that we have two referees going to Volksrust Mpumalanga, South Africa, on an exchange programme. The referees will undergo intensive training and will officiate at the Amajuba Week which is a rugby festival for schools in the Mpumalanga Province,” they stated.
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