The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
AS Zimbabwe’s senior rugby sides, the Sables and Cheetahs, prepare for crucial assignments that could transform the fortunes of the domestic game, Tafadzwa Chitokwindo is set to watch both showcases from a distance with a mixture of emotion and a different perspective.
The Cheetahs will travel to Uganda at the end of the month and try to reclaim their lost glory at the Rugby Africa Sevens Cup, while the Sables have an even tougher assignment in France in July in their final qualifying tournament of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
This year’s Africa Cup is being used to determine who wins the automatic ticket to the World Cup, also scheduled for France.
Unfortunately, Chitokwindo, a stalwart for both teams, will not be part of either tournament as the 31-year-old wing called time on his international career a fortnight ago.
“It has been an absolute pleasure representing my beautiful country, but what goes up must come down,” wrote Chitokwindo on his Facebook page.
“(I’m) happy to announce the end of a seemingly long international rugby career.
“To my family and friends, the union (Zimbabwe Rugby Union), teammates and, most importantly, the fans, thank you!” he said.
Chitokwindo opened up to The Sunday Mail Sport from his Germany base on reasons behind the retirement.
He also shared some of his best and worst memories with both the Sables and Cheetahs. Apparently, the decision was five years in the making.
“To be honest, I thought about retiring some five years ago but only started doing something about it in 2019.
“The goal was to qualify for the Olympics and become a complete athlete,” he said.
“I felt that I had done everything I could possibly do after having been to the World Cup (with the Cheetahs) and won the Africa Cup.
“The only thing that was left was to take part in the Olympics and after we failed to do that the last time, I started thinking about retiring.”
While this was still just a thought, the stars appeared to align when the coronavirus struck.
“In terms of retirement, there was a time when we used to put other things aside to focus on playing rugby, but now I think it’s time to put rugby aside and prioritise other things.”
He believes Zimbabwe has enough talent to fill the void created by the retirement of senior players.
“I am not getting any younger; I think the time has come to pursue other things.
“It helps that there are so many talented youngsters coming up, some have even put their hands up to lead, and I am sure both the Sables and the Cheetahs are in good hands,” he said.
While he didn’t go into the specifics of his future plans, he indicated his desire to venture into the corporate world.
In fact, he recently started working for a tech company in Germany.
Whether that is a long- or short-term arrangement remains to be seen.
Popularly known as ‘MaRubber’ on the local rugby scene, there were mostly two sides to Chitokwindo — the life of the party and the dynamo on the rugby pitch.
Both on and off the pitch, his feet mostly did the talking, and this was either on the dance floor or scoring some of the most spectacular tries.
He stands as one of the most decorated Sevens players in the country’s history, after an international career that stretches decades and includes countless titles, accolades and caps for the national team.
However, what is likely to come as a surprise is that his crowning achievement and most memorable highlight don’t necessarily correlate.
MaRubber’s crowning achievement is without a doubt being named Player of the Tournament at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series qualifiers in Hong Kong in 2016.
He was, however, not even present to receive his trophy.
“Well, it’s actually a funny story that one,” said Chitokwindo.
“I won the Player of the Tournament and I wasn’t there to collect my trophy because I was elsewhere talking up this girl outside the stadium.
“The Kenyan lads then came by and told me that I had just won a trophy and no one could find me.
“I remember they said, ‘you are busy talking to this girl while your trophy was waiting for you?’
“That is how I found out about the award, and it is a story that still makes me chuckle to this day.”
The former Victoria High School student played about 29 matches and scored 15 tries (75 points) in the Sevens’ series, but his most memorable was on home soil.
“While the Hong Kong award is certainly a highlight, my favourite moments were with the Sables games we played at home.
“Nothing beats playing in front of your home fans and hearing thousands of people cheering you on.
“I remember there was a game we played at Prince Edward against Kenya. I still cannot forget this picture of me scoring a try.
“In that picture, which came out in the papers the next day, there was this female police officer jumping in celebration.
“That image captures everything one needs to know about me and the joy I got from playing at home,” he said.
Chitokwindo also cleared the air on suggestions he may have been snubbed by the current coaches of the Sables and the Cheetahs, insisting that both sides had actually reached out to him about joining the squad for the trips to Uganda and France.
“I spoke to the manager of the Sables, Jason Maritz, and he asked about my availability.
“I have just started a new job and could not get some time off, so I told him that I would not be available.
“It is the same thing with the Cheetahs. I talked to Graham (Kaulback) and Tafadzwa Mhende and I had to turn them down also.
“I could not commit fully to the schedule, and training sessions are now scarce due to work commitments,” he said.
Another misconception he addressed was the belief he mostly favoured the Sevens game over the 15s rugby.
It couldn’t be further from the truth, as he put it.
The Sevens game was just shorter, less demanding and more flexible off the pitch for the winger.
On it, there was just more room and freedom to run and move around.
