Sables legend fights for life
FOR over three decades, Zivanai Dzinomurumbi has dedicated his life to rugby either as a player with the senior national team — the Sables — or as coach and manager.
A pioneer of the revolution that paved the way for the inclusion of more blacks in the Sables, Dzinomurumbi, who featured for Old Miltonians, also helped found a black-administered outfit, Highlanders, now known as Panthers.
Ziv, as the former winger is simply called in domestic rugby circles, also teamed up with Victor Olonga in the struggle against race-related injustices, especially in team selection for Zimbabwe’s tours.
Zimbabwe had just one black player — Richard Tsimba — at the 1987 Rugby World Cup finals.
Thirty years after he made his Test debut for the Sables in a crunch game against Cote d’Ivoire in Harare, Dzinomurumbi is, however, fighting a different battle far from the green grass of the rugby trenches.
And this time it is probably the biggest contest that he may have to contend with — that of his life.
He is currently hospitalised at a private clinic in Masvingo as he awaits heart surgery, which Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) president Aaron Jani said needed to be urgently performed on the Sables legend.
Jani yesterday rallied Zimbabweans to assist the ZRU to mobilise resources to send Dzinomurumbi to India for the surgery.
In his passionate appeal, the ZRU president said his union had already started a fundraising campaign for their former player and coach, and revealed that Dzinomurumbi needs US$20 000 for the operation.
Jani said they had dispatched their vice president, Martin Shone, to Masvingo yesterday to visit Dzinomurumbi and assess the situation on the ground.
The union also facilitated a telephone conversation between Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry and Dzinomurumbi during which she wished him well and lifted his spirits.
“My appeal is for the rugby community to come together in this dire time of need. Zivanai is one of our very best soldiers who gave his all to rugby,” said Jani.
“This is an opportunity to thank him for his immense contribution to rugby. Please assist, a burden shared is a burden halved and no amount is too small.
“We must get him to India for a heart operation soonest and time is not on our side.
“The union sent the VP (Shone) to Masvingo to assess the situation firsthand and to brief Zivanai on the efforts to raise the resources required.
“We also facilitated a call which he received direct from the Minister of Sport (Coventry) to encourage him and to lift his spirits.”
Jani, also a former Zimbabwe international, said Dzinomurumbi’s plight highlighted one of the major challenges facing sporting associations across the country — that of medical cover for their athletes and personnel.
“This is a problem that is prevalent in all sporting codes. We must find a lasting solution to the issue of pensions and medical cover for all current and former players. We need products that are tailor-made for the sporting fraternity. We had a board meeting today (yesterday) and this particular issue was indeed topical. We have not found a solution yet, but at least the focus is now there,’’ he said.
Ex-Zimbabwe coach Godwin “Jaws’’ Murambiwa, who was one of the first people to lend support to the fund-raising initiative, described Dzinomurumbi as soldier of the game and a great motivator.
“Ziv was responsible for the birth of Highlanders or Panthers as they are now called, having played for OMs in earlier years. He was passionate about a black club and him and Victor Olonga were instrumental in setting that up.
“In my stint as Sables head coach from 2000, he actually came out of retirement to help mentor a lot of players and was a calming influence.
“As someone who was confident, he was outspoken about selection and their processes and championed this cause, of course, having been left out of many tours in the ’90s,’’ Murambiwa said.
ZRU general manager Sifiso Made said apart from their own fund-raising initiative, the union would also appeal for Government assistance through the Sport and Recreation Commission.
“As ZRU we are going to lobby Government through the SRC and Ministry of Sport to try and get funding to assist current and former players who have given so much to the sport and Zimbabwe.
“We will also be looking at ways to get players employed in companies that we have close relationships with. We are also going to approach medical aid societies to set up medical aid for players,’’ Made said.
ZRU, he added, had also been using their social media platforms to raise awareness of Dzinomurumbi’s plight.
Apart from his stints with the national team, Dzinomurumbi also featured for Border Districts in the South African Currie Cup.
He also coached Matabeleland Senior Men’s and domestic club giants Old Miltonians.