‘Super’ proud of wounded Sables

HIS boys might have been hammered 6-80 by Namibia on August 15, but Sables coach Cyprian “Super” Mandenge maintains he is proud of his charges.

The Africa Cup final defeat at the hands of World Cup-bound Namibia was a difficult pill to swallow Zimbabwean rugby fans, but Mandenge is drawing comfort from a solid opening 25 minutes.

The gaffer said it was always going to be difficult for his ill-prepared side.

“I am still proud of the boys. We played well, especially in the first 25 minutes, but maybe it came down to conditioning and in the end we were outmuscled,” he said.

“Maybe it takes someone who saw the game to confirm that we started well and maybe we gave in after going to the half-time down 6-28. We could have fought to reduce the gap but our conditioning was not at its best.

“Namibia are going to the World Cup, they were well-prepared and conditioned. They even brought in some of their players who have played Super 15 rugby. It shows they took this match seriously.”

Mandenge noted that without sufficient resources, Zimbabwean rugby would always play second fiddle to South Africa and Namibia.

“Look, everyone knows how we prepared, we only had one week of camp yet a week should be for touch-ups. We need at least a month to prepare. But it all comes back to resources and we hope the union will get some support.”