ZIMBABWE-BORN former Springboks coach Ian McIntosh says Zimbabwe rugby will continue to lag behind other nations until proper structures are put in place to establish a strong club rugby system.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO IN VICTORIA FALLS
McIntosh, who coached the Springboks Legends in a match against their Zimbabwean counterparts here on Saturday, said while local schools rugby was at par with other leading rugby nations, there was still a lot to be done at club level.
Highly-regarded in South African circles, McIntosh, who two years ago received the World Rugby Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service in recognition of his achievement in South African rugby, has always maintained strong links with his country of birth.
The Bulawayo-born coach, who also coached his native Zimbabwe in the 1970s and 80s before taking charge of the Boks in the early 1990s, was in the country last year during the Dairibord Schools Rugby Festival to help with development efforts here.
During the visit McIntosh trained the locally-based Sables players ahead of their Rugby World Cup qualifiers before conducting a workshop for national team coaches across all levels at Prince Edward School, the venue of the Schools Festival.
“I was fortunate to attend the Annual Schools Rugby Festival at Prince Edward School in Harare last year,” McIntosh recalled in an interview with NewsDay Sport in the resort town on Saturday.
“I remember seeing two very talented boys in particular at the festival, a fullback and an eighthman and I felt if they were closely monitored and given the necessary support, they could go a long way.
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“I remember making a speech afterwards and one of the things I said was that the main reason why Tonderai Chavhanga, Tendai ‘Beast’ and Brian Mujati went on to play for the Springboks was because of the strong schools rugby system that exists in this country,”
He added: “Kennedy Tsimba was also a product of the same system and could also have played for the Springboks had he not been capped with Zimbabwe. If as a country we can produce five or six players who have the quality to play for the Springboks, you cannot tell me that we cannot be a force to reckon with in world rugby.
“However, the saddest thing is that the club system which should be the next level for the boys coming from the schools has sought of died in Zimbabwe.”
McIntosh further said: “Bulawayo, for instance, now has about two or three teams only now and I’m not sure about Harare, but there’s no denying that it’s no longer as competitive as it was in the past. If there is no structure, where is all the young talent coming from the schools going to go? I know the main reason is finance, which is sad, but someone somewhere has to find the money to revive the clubs and the results will start coming at national level.”
The South Africa Rugby Union (Saru) selector’s comments come after last year’s edition of the National Rugby League ended prematurely at the halfway stage because of lack of sponsorship.
After months of inactivity, club rugby is expected to start early next month albeit on a regional basis with two separate leagues in the northern and southern regions after the country’s top eight clubs indicated that they will not be able to travel outside their respective regions due to lack of funding.
League matches will be played at the same venue in the separate regions to cut costs.
In Harare, the traditional clubs, Harare Sports Club, Old Hararians and Old Georgians, together with their second-team sides will make up the core league, while in Bulawayo, Busters, Old Miltonians and Western Panthers along with their B-sides will constitute the core-six.
Meanwhile, the South African Rugby Legends concluded their tour of the Victoria Falls on Saturday evening with a dominant 57-7 win over a depleted Zimbabwe Legends side after withdrawals by many former players due to other commitments.
The Springboks Legends’ visit left a legacy in Victoria Falls as the illustrious cast of former players took some time to conduct various clinics to schools in Victoria Falls in line with their vision to encourage rugby development in areas around Southern Africa with an emphasis on schools and youth.
The tour will also firmly put the spotlight on Victoria Falls as not only a premier tourist destination on the continent and the world with so many activities, accommodation options and sights to see, but also showed the town’s huge potential as a sports tour destination.
