The Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) will finally break its silence on the identity of the new Sables coach on Monday following a meeting between the Sables’ Committee and new ZRU president John Falkenberg on Tuesday.
Speculation surrounding the vacant Sables coaching post had reached fever pitch following the expiry of Brendan Dawson’s four year contract with ZRU last December.
Dawson, who was named the Coach of the Year at the Annual National Sports Awards, is tipped to retain the top job and has made it clear that he would want to lead the Sables in the 2015 World Cup qualifiers. Sables’ Committee chairman Dumile Moyo confirmed Monday’s announcement.
“The union will make the announcement on Monday where the identity of the coach will be revealed. Although I cannot say much until the day of the announcement, I can confirm that there was a meeting between the Committee and the Union boss yesterday which went very well,” said Moyo.
Despite reports that some senior Sables players were demanding his ouster, Dawson said he was still interested in the job.
“I am definitely still interested in the job and hope that my contract, together with that of the other technical team members, will be extended,” he told NewsDay Sport from his base in Bulawayo.
The former Sables skipper is one of the most decorated players in Zimbabwean rugby history and represented the country at the 1991 Rugby World Cup – the last time Zimbabwe took part in the tournament.
The successful coach led the Sables to the Victoria Cup and a promotion to the Africa Cup Group 1A and their best ever ranking on International Rugby Board (IRB) ranking of 33.
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The Group 1A is the elite level of continental rugby and affords the Sables a chance to fight for the single slot reserved for Africa at the 2015 World Cup.
The previous Sables technical team was made up of Dawson as the head coach, Cyprian Mandenge as his assistant while Noddy Kanyangarara was the team manager.
Last year, the Sables also won the tri-nations Victoria Cup which involved Uganda and Kenya.
The new Sables coach will have the task of preparing the team for the Africa Cup Group 1A tournament set for July 5-9 in Tunisia where they will play the hosts, Kenya and Uganda.
