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Minister Makhosini Hlongwane

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
SPORT and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane has raised a red flag over the senior national team’s dismal performance in the Rugby Africa Gold Cup.

Hlongwane has directed the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) to convene an emergency meeting with the Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) to find solutions of halting the downward slide.

In a statement last night, Hlongwane blamed the continued factional fights within the ZRU for rendering the union “completely and acutely dysfunctional” resulting in the downward slide of the game and losing to non-traditional rugby countries such as Kenya, Tunisia and Namibia.

The Sables suffered a third straight defeat following their 23-31 loss to Tunisia at Prince Edward School on Saturday.

The defeat came hard on the heels of a 22-41 home loss to Kenya at Hartsfield ground in Bulawayo.

“It is poignantly clear that the Zimbabwe Rugby Union have allowed their differences to spill onto the field of play thereby affecting the performance of the national team. The Minister further notes that previous engagements and calls on the union to set aside electoral differences and to move forward till the end of the current electoral cycle for the good of rugby development in Zimbabwe have fallen on deaf ears.

“It is also clear that the union has failed to build and to work as a team for the good of the development of rugby in Zimbabwe, and apart from the recent string of losses, the handling of the Zambian national team in May 2017 left a lot to be desired,” read Hlongwane’s statement.

He said the emergency meeting must come up with measures to be taken to reverse the performance challenges and stop the downward slide of the game in Zimbabwe.

“Accordingly, the minister has directed the SRC to convene an emergency meeting to deliberate on the challenges at the ZRU and advise him accordingly on measures to be taken to reverse the current administrative and performance challenges and to stop the downward slide of rugby in Zimbabwe.”

The Sables face relegation from the Rugby Africa Gold Cup if they fail to beat Uganda and Tunisia win against Senegal.

The Africa Gold Cup features Uganda, Namibia, Kenya, Senegal, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.

The competition is played on a round-robin basis and the overall winners subsequently qualify for the Rugby World Cup.

@skhumoyo2000