The Sunday Mail
Don Makanyanga
TWO decades after he last donned green and white stripes of the Sables jersey, Kennedy Tsimba is back!
Tsimba was one of the biggest names on the new Zimbabwe Rugby Union Sables organising committee, with the 43-year-old saying his return has been precipitated by his desire to give back.
“After 32 years of being involved Rugby, I am still very passionate about its growth in any way,” said Tsimba.
“So after years of assisting South Africa Rugby enhance its upcoming talent, I jumped at the first chance to come back and help when ZRU came calling,” he said.
The World Rugby Hall of Famer, who is currently based South Africa as a director of Rugby at St Albans College, said he was quite enjoying the work he was doing in South Africa, but helping rebuild rugby in Zimbabwe was just an offer he could not refuse.
“I must say a lot of the local organisations in South Africa have over the years unsuccessfully made frantic offers to lure me away from the school (St Albans), and have since expressed shock at learning that I have accepted to come back home and work with the ZRU.
“I wish to make it clear that Zimbabwe is my home, from the time I was a kid and went to watch my late brother Richard at Police Grounds to now.
“I have and will always be a huge fan of the Sables,” said Tsimba.
With concerns having been raised over the preparations of the Sables ahead of the Africa Gold cup, Tsimba said it is part of the committee’s priority to see the Sables kick-starting their preparations as early as possible.
“We need to be pro — active in terms of camps, warm-up matches and make sure our strategic pathway towards these qualifiers is very sound.
“This is where the Committee has already been working hard on.
With the Jani led board in race against time to appoint a coach to lead Zimbabwe at The Africa Gold |Cup and Japan 2019, Tsimba believes there is need to have a person who has an understanding of Zimbabwe rugby culture at the helm.
“We need an astute coach; one who understands the modern game, can work under pressure and most importantly a coach that fully grasps the fundamentals of the culture of Zimbabwe Rugby,” he said.
Tsimba who still holds the record of being the fastest player to reach 1 000 points in first-class rugby believes Zimbabwe has what it takes to once again become a powerhouse on the continent.
