adminSports Correspondent
THE dismal performance by Zimbabwe’s national Sevens rugby side, the Cheetahs, left dedicated Zimbabwean rugby fans who watched last weekend’s matches at the HSBC Cape Town Sevens World Series in South Africa disappointed.
Although the Cheetahs were the underdogs as the only non-core team at the two-day tournament, there was still room for improvement given the fact that sevens rugby has predominantly been the strength of Zimbabwean rugby over the years due to the wide-ranging options of utility players in the country.
The Cheetahs lost all their opening matches in Pool B against the hosts, who won the tournament, England and archrivals, Kenya.
The side went on to lose again 21-12 to Wales in the Bowl quarterfinals and had another opportunity to salvage some lost pride in the Shield quarterfinals, but were no match against the Samoans that dismissed them 33-0.
It was guns blazing on Tuesday in the Manicaland Rugby Family chat group on WhatsApp, where rugby enthusiasts, former rugby players and sports lovers generally blamed Zimbabwe Rugby Union and the poor systems in place in the country to support minority sports.
While the Cheetahs now shift their attention to the Hong Kong Sevens in March next year and the repechage qualifiers tournament to be held in Monaco next year in June for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, critics said ZRU had to completely change its approach especially on player incentives and remuneration.
At the Hong Kong Sevens, which is part of the HSBC Sevens World Series, the Cheetahs will be vying for core team status qualification, while at the repechage the side will have to compete in the 16-member tournament to book a ticket to the 2016 Olympic Games to be hosted by Brazil.
Mutare Boys’ High School rugby coach, George Mufute, was the first to drop a bombshell in the chat group, complaining that Cheetahs 0-36 defeat to the Kenyans at the tournament was inexcusable especially after narrowly falling 19-21 to the side in the African qualifiers for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games barely two months ago.
From there it was comment after comment from rugby enthusiasts.
One touched on the poor remuneration for players and lack of professionalism in the country’s rugby structures.
While other spoke about poor development platforms at grassroots, with the priority only placed on football and little consideration for other sports regardless of them exuding potential to breakthrough at regional and international level.
Another player said comparing to South Africa that rejuvenated its Sevens team by changing the bulk of players each year, the Cheetahs squad has predominantly been the same players for the past five to 10 years.
The major ball of contention was, however, on the administration by ZRU, which they said diverts most of the funds to management salaries and programmes at the expense of player welfare and development of the sport at grassroots.
Zimbabwe’s sad rugby tale since last qualifying for the 1991 Rugby World Cup has been of talent exodus and narrow misses to make a mark internationally..
Over the years the blame game has been the order of the day with little success in breaking through in any major international completion.
Rugby enthusiasts in Manicaland called for a complete overhaul of ZRU to breathe new life in the country’s rugby board and usher a new chapter for the sport.
Online Reporter