The Sunday Times
21 July 2012
THE Zimbabwe senior national rugby team, the Sables will not be able to defend the Victoria Cup tri-nations tournament against Kenya and Uganda due to financial constraints.
Bongai Zamchiya, the Zimbabwe Sables committee chairman confirmed that this year’s edition of the Victoria Cup has been scrapped. Zamchiya pointed out that Zimbabwe and Uganda were still waiting on getting funding from sponsors, and had proposed that the tournament be played later on in the year but that recommendation was rejected by Kenya.
“This year’s edition of the Victoria Cup is definitely off. Zimbabwe and Uganda wanted the tournament postponed but Kenya were not interested in that. We are still committed to the Victoria Cup and hope to play when resources allow for that,†said Zamchiya.
However, Zamchiya said the Sables technical committee will come up with a fixtures plan which might see the Sables play against South African provincial teams in friendly matches. The Sables have also been invited to Portugal for an international match in November and if funds are secured, they will travel to Europe.
Zamchiya revealed that the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart has committed himself to holding a fundraising indaba for the Sables soon where strategies will be put in place on how the corporate sector can be convinced to support the Sables financially.
While the Sables are on top of the world having won the Confederation of African Rugby Africa Cup group 1A with a 22-18 victory over Uganda in Tunisia, that has not attracted sponsors to the team. Delta Beverages are the biggest sponsors of the Sables through their Lion Lager brand but the money they poured into the Sables was not enough for the team to successfully participate in the Victoria Cup. The Brendon Dawson coached Sables were scheduled to take on Kenya and Uganda on a home and away basis at the end of this month and early next month.
A partnership, which started in 2010 between the Zimbabwe Rugby Union and their East African counterparts, the Victoria Cup has been fruitful for Zimbabwe as it played a significant role in improving Zimbabwe’s ranking on the International Rugby Board world rankings.
Last year, Zimbabwe won all the matches, home and away to claim their first Victoria Cup.
CAR only pays the expenses for the teams when they play in the Africa Cup with the respective unions taking care of the team’s bills when they participate in the Victoria Cup.
Zimbabwe are now ranked 29 in the world rankings, making them the third best African team after South Africa and Namibia. Inactivity on the international scene might see them drop in the rankings.