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NewsDay

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Mandenge, Brider for France

Sport
ZIMBABWE Sables head coach Cyprian Mandenge and National Under-20 head coach Brendon Brider are heading to France as part of a programme developed in partnership with Rugby Africa and the French Rugby Federation for the training and up skilling of high performance coaches.

ZIMBABWE Sables head coach Cyprian Mandenge and National Under-20 head coach Brendon Brider are heading to France as part of a programme developed in partnership with Rugby Africa and the French Rugby Federation for the training and up skilling of high performance coaches.

ZRU

As part of this programme both coaches will commence the World Rugby Level 3 coaching certification – an extensive process which will be completed after twelve months.

This partnership between Rugby Africa and French Rugby is welcomed by Zimbabwe as being the first in a series of collaborations to ensure the Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU)’s vision that all national coaches will hold Level 3 coaching certificates by the end of 2018. The two Zimbabwe coaches are going to be in France from May 3-9 for the course that will be conducted and hosted at the French National Rugby Centre in Marcoussis, just outside Paris. This state of the art High Performance training centre is home to the French National high performance teams.

Mandenge, previously assistant coach to Brendan Dawson who resigned at the end of 2014, was appointed to the position of Sables head coach early this year while Brider, a former Under-18 assistant coach was appointed the Under-20 head coach.

ZRU director of rugby Brighton Chivandire is the only locally based Zimbabwean coach with a modern day World Rugby Level Three coaching certificate, the highest offered by the world rugby governing body and one of less than a handful in Africa; all national head coaches at all levels currently hold a minimum of World Rugby Level 2 qualification; assistant coaches are either in possession of Level 2 or working towards such certification for the 2015 season.

Speaking during the recently staged Power Sales Schools Rugby Festival at Hartsfield Rugby Ground in Bulawayo, Chivandire emphasised the need for more coaches to be upgraded to higher coaching qualifications and that it is necessary to continuously expand on the “workforce” of coaches available to all levels of Rugby for both male and female players.

The National Coaching Philosophy and the Training and Education programme is comprehensive and designed to achieve this in both the short and long term.

This incorporates not only coaches, but match officials, strength and conditioning coaches, first aid for rugby certification and educators in all of these fields of expertise as well as anti-doping education.