Zimbabwe’s senior rugby team — the Sables — left for Tunisia yesterday without assistant coach Cyprian Mandenge after the committee which runs the team’s affairs failed to secure an air ticket for him on time.
The Sables Committee is a brand committee delegated by the Zimbabwe Rugby Board to run the affairs of the national XV’s side.
Mandenge was expected to be part of the travelling party for the Confederation of African Rugby Group 1A Tournament which will run from Monday to Friday next week in Tunisia.
Sables committee chairman Bongai Zamchiya said they had not managed to get enough funding to secure Mandenge’s air ticket.
“The IRB (International Rugby Board) only allocated us air tickets for a delegation of 27 people, 24 players and three officials. We managed to send the head coach, the team manager and team’s physiotherapist. We have been running around for the past two weeks trying to secure an air ticket for the assistant coach, but the corporate world has not been forthcoming,” said Zamchiya in an interview with NewsDay Sport yesterday.
Mandenge, who recently attended a 10-day coaching attachment at the Durban-based Super Rugby franchise, Sharks, was expected to play a key role in the Sables’ campaign in Tunisia.
