Sad indictment of African rugby

Former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers just can’t seem to catch a break. In a rarity for Springbok coaches, De Villiers enjoyed a solid record against the world champion All Blacks in his time as South African national coach from 2008 to 2011, beating them on five occasions, including historic victories in Dunedin and Hamilton. But that wouldn’t have prepared him for what he is facing in his new role as the head coach of the Zimbabwe rugby team.

Pictures yesterday emerged of his team sleeping on the streets of Tunisia ahead of their World Cup qualifier against the hosts this weekend. Concerning pictures of the players lying on sidewalks with their baggage surfaced yesterday in a Facebook post by David Coltart, a former Zimbabwe minister of sport. According to Coltart, the players and team management simply couldn’t stay in the accommodation provided by Tunisia because it was “disgusting”.

It’s also being alleged that the team was held up at passport control after Tunisian authorities confiscated passports and demanded payments for visas.

One of the Zimbabwe players, flank Takudzwa Mandiwanza, told a Zimbabwean radio station that the tour has been a “shambles”, adding De Villiers had bought the players some sandwiches and drinks out of his own pocket.

The Sables haven’t exactly enjoyed a wonderful qualifying campaign, drawing to Morocco and losing to Kenya in their quest to book their ticket to next year’s World Cup in Japan. Namibia have won all three of their matches, while Kenya are two wins from two.

Rugby Africa and the Tunisia Rugby Union may have apologised to the national team, and promised to rectify the mess immediately. But if rugby on the continent wants to take themselves seriously, you can’t afford slip-ups like these scenes in Tunisia.