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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE proposed tour of Netherlands by the country’s fifteens national rugby team, the Sables has been pushed to the end of November.
Jason Maritz, the Sables team manager said the change in the dates of the expedition have been necessitated by the fact that Zimbabwe is not on the list of countries allowed to enter Netherlands at the moment. Initially, the Sables were meant to visit Netherlands at the end of October to beginning of November for two Tests. The Sables team management is trying to get permission from the Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation (NOC*NSF) to enter the European country.
“Whilst all parties are keen for the tour to materialise the reality of the situation is that no green light can be given without borders opening / travel permitted and or special permission from NOC*NSF which is being sought. Both parties have agreed to wait for the pending clarity but have not given up hope yet with the End of November now being targeted,’’ Maritz said in an interview.
Nationals from Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay are the only ones allowed to enter Netherlands for now because of the coronavirus control measures.
Netherlands are ranked 25 in the World Rugby rankings while Zimbabwe are 10 places down. With this year’s SuperSport Rugby Challenge in South Africa, where Zimbabwe appeared for the first time in 2019 cancelled and the Rugby Africa season voided due to Covid-19, the Netherlands tour, if it goes ahead would be the only piece of action for the Sables in 2020.
Online Reporter