Olonga expresses concern over rugby standards

RUGBY legend Victor Olonga is concerned that the standards of the game in Bulawayo are continuously dropping.

The former Sables player has been tasked by the Zimbabwe Rugby Union to lead an Under-20 Matabeleland player’s performance training programme as the country seeks to defend their Barthes Trophy title in March.

The union is in the process of building a formidable Junior Sables squad with players drawn from around the country.

The ZRU says the training programme to be led by Olonga will ensure the province is not left behind in terms of producing quality players.

“In efforts to strengthen and improve performance of the Under-20 Matabeleland players who have been identified through the talent identification window. We have asked Victor Olonga to run high-performance training sessions voluntarily for the Matabeleland region, outside of normal club sessions to keep up to the standards of the Harare players who have already started working as a high-performance group.

“If clubs have any players that have the potential for national selection they are welcome to send the players for the high-performance sessions for assessment. Shasha Gomez will be our consultant for this programme,” said the ZRU.

The training programme, which is open to every player under the age of 20, will be conducted on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Hartsfield Rugby Grounds.

Ahead of the start of the programme, Olonga says the state of rugby in the city is shocking.

“Bulawayo Province is falling behind, actually very far behind in terms of rugby. So, what we are trying to do is improve the standards of the game in the province. At the moment the state of the game in the province is shocking. I am not being dramatic but it is shocking,” said Olonga.

He however, says not all hope is lost in improving the game.

“Yes, we may talk of not having resources but we have players with the bodies, once we get the bodies in shape then we can perform. All hope is not lost though as the dire situation can still be solved.

“The youngsters can be put in the right direction and allowed to get healthier bodies. We can push these youngsters in the right direction through programmes such as this one. We are going to run this project in a transparent and accountable way,” said Olonga.

Olonga made his test debut in 1993 against Wales in Bulawayo where the Sables lost 35-14 and he scored a try.

Olonga went on the play in 14 tests for Zimbabwe all coming as starts and he scored 40 points including eight tries in his international career.