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Paul Munyuki Harare Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) yesterday held an emergency meeting with Sables players in a bid to avert a crisis in the flagship rugby camp after indications that players were not happy with the treatment of the senior national team. Zimbabwe is preparing for their Africa Cup final game against Namibia in Windhoek on Saturday which they need to win to be crowned continental champions having beaten Kenya and Tunisia in the last few months.
ZRU failed to provide lunch for the players on Monday leaving them to fend for themselves. There was also no water for the players at the training session, a sign some believe is part of a plot to sabotage the technical team.
The Sables preparations have not been the best as they have had no game time since playing Tunisia about two months ago.
The players are not in camp and training from home after ZRU failed to offset a huge bill for the Sables’ last two camping sessions at Zesa Technical Institute in the run-up to the Kenya and Tunisa games.
Yesterday, controversial ZRU chief executive Colleen de Jong held a crisis meeting with the players following their morning training session but the boys were left even more disgruntled.
De Jong told the players that they would not get any allowances for the game against Namibia and that they would continue training from home.
Only Scotland-based flanker Andrew Rose, South African-based lock Biselele Tsamala, Royal Mwale, Sanele Sibanda, scrummy Charles Jiji, centre Cleopas Makotose and Tatenda Karuru are in full camp.
The trio of Jiji, Makotose and hooker Karuru, who are all based outside Harare, were only allowed to camp at the Zesa Institute on Monday after struggling to get accommodation in the capital and they are now staying with friends.
De Jong told the players that ZRU is broke and cannot afford to pay for their camp.
The players told De Jong that they needed transport allowances to make it easier for them to get to training on time as most of them were unemployed, but she told them the union could not provide anything.
“We’re trying our level best as players to make sure that we come to these training sessions and do all we’ve to, but there’s very little, if any, support from ZRU coming our way. We play our part on the field but they aren’t able to fulfil their roles as office bearers,” said one of the players.
“As the Sables, we’re the most neglected team in the ZRU structures. We’re not given enough attention in terms of strength and conditioning, no camp when we need it the most and no allowances. It makes life difficult for us all, from the players to the technical team.
“Things are just getting worse. Yesterday we didn’t have lunch and we barely had drinking water at the training session, but here comes Colleen to tell us that she didn’t know anything about us not having lunch and telling us that there’s water at her home.
“For all the reasons as players, we’re sure that if she really had the game of rugby at heart, she would’ve known all about this.”
However, the players indicated they would give their all against Namibia.
“In as much as the ZRU bosses are failing to deliver, we’ll just play our part. We’re Zimbabweans and for the pride of the nation, we’ll put on that green and white jersey and fight for our nation.
“But at the end of the day, we also expect the union to deliver as much as we’ve done because as it stands, it seems like a plot to sabotage the technical team compared to the previous years,” said the players.
Online Reporter