The Sunday Mail
Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Rugby Union remain hopeful that the Sables will be granted yet another dance at the SuperSport Challenge Cup, with the board still eyeing an invitation for this year or the 2022 edition.
With the SuperSport Challenge having given the Sables just the right platform they needed in order to fine tune for the Victoria Cup, the ZRU are stopping at nothing to try and secure a berth at this year’s competition.
Local rugby has been hampered by a long Covid-19-induced break which has meant that the opportunity to be registered in some tournaments has been lost.
Aaron Jani and his executive also used the period of lockdown to ensure they clear the ZRU legacy debt.
It however, emerged that Zimbabwe’s participation in the SuperSport Challenge was one of the major talking points at yesterday’s virtual ZRU annual meeting.
The Union held a virtual AGM in line with the Covid-19 protocols and chief executive Sifiso Made was happy with the way business was conducted.
“Yes, we just completed our AGM, during which we endorsed the minutes from our last meeting. The president gave his address and we discussed a few items on the agenda.
“Among the major talking points was obviously the return of the sport, our participation at the SuperSport Challenge Cup and the fact that we are now in good standing having cleared our debt.
“We remain hopeful of getting an invite for the SuperSport Challenge Cup, though there hasn’t been any formal communication yet.
“Things are ever changing. We thought that Kenya would be playing rugby by now, only to find out that they have gone back into a 21-day lockdown.
“We will continue to monitor the situation, but we hope to still participate in either this year or the 2022 edition of the tournament,” Made said.
The SuperSport Challenge Cup remains a key component of Zimbabwe’s preparations, with their last dance with the South African provincial tournament in 2019, giving the Sables a good run of competitive games under the Zimbabwe Academy.
A fired up Sables then went on to win the Victoria Cup, largely using the momentum they had gained from the SuperSport Challenge .
“Plans are afoot for the Sables to regroup for camp in May and begin their preparations for the 2021/22 season.
“The Cheetahs are also expected to regroup for camp in South Africa, as they have the Repechage tournament coming up.
“Overall, it was a productive meeting as we spoke about clearing our debt and remain fully-committed to continuing our good corporate governance,” Made said.
