Chavhanga speaks on Sables FULLBACK . . . Tonderai Chavhanga hands over the Owen Davies Inter Provincials Tournament best player medal to Harare North Province’s Tinotenda Chikutiro
FULLBACK . . . Tonderai Chavhanga hands over the Owen Davies Inter Provincials Tournament best player medal to Harare North Province’s Tinotenda Chikutiro

FULLBACK . . . Tonderai Chavhanga hands over the Owen Davies Inter Provincials Tournament best player medal to Harare North Province’s Tinotenda Chikutiro

Ray Bande Mutare Bureau
FORMER Springbok star Tonderai Chavhanga has added his voice on the Sables poor Africa Gold Cup campaign, attributing it to lack of adequate preparations.

Chavhanga, who grew up in Zimbabwe but starred for South Africa’s Springboks at the peak of his professional rugby career, believes that the greatest challenge facing Zimbabwe national teams and the Sables in particular was inadequate preparations in the build up to their international assignments.

He revealed that he had been following the Sables’ doomed 2017 Africa Gold Cup Group A1 campaign, which ended in disappointing fashion once again as Zimbabwe slumped to a 38-12 defeat by Uganda at the Legends Rugby Club in Kampala on Saturday.

The result also meant that the Sables finished just above the only team they beat in this competition — Senegal — who were relegated into the Silver group and have been replaced by promoted Morocco.

At the rate the Sables have lost their way, it will not come as a surprise if by the end of the 2018 campaign they would be the next team to be demoted from Group A1.

Chavhanga who was guest of honour at the Owen Davies inter-provincial tournament at Hillcrest College in Mutare over the weekend, however, leapt to the defence of the players whom he claimed had put up spirited performances.

The Sables flattered to deceive after getting their campaign off to a 31-16 win over Senegal in Dakar before they terribly lost their way in the competition where defeats by Namibia, Kenya, Tunisia and lately Uganda then followed.

Chavhanga, who could run the 100 meters in 10.27 seconds, possibly making him the fastest rugby player in South African history, is convinced that there is need to invest more in adequate preparations for the Sables and other teams representing the country in various sporting disciplines.

“I am following the Sables performance in the Gold Cup and I should say the results have been disappointing although the players have somehow shown a great deal of zeal and dedication.

“I think the challenge that we have always had is about our preparations ahead of major international assignments for different teams representing the country. I remember when we used to have just one week camp before the Craven Week and that impacted negatively on our performance.

“Other teams have more time in camp and that also reflects on their performance on the pitch.

“This all amounts to issue of resources. It is a money game so to speak. There is need for more financial resources to be invested in sport so that the players get more time to gel and get used to each other before facing opponents,” Chavhanga said.

Gifted with blistering pace, Chavhanga, enrolled at Maraire Primary School in his birth place Masvingo before attending Blakiston primary and Prince Edward schools in the capital.

His enrolment at Prince Edward was courtesy of a rugby scholarship where he became the youngest player in the history of the school to play for the first team.

Even at such a tender age, Tonderai’s speed qualities were very evident as he was much quicker than his peers.

He made first team rugby for three consecutive years at primary school and made the Harare Schools Representative team for three straight years playing fullback. “I think we have a lot of talent here in Zimbabwe. There are a lot of talented youngsters whose talents are going to waste simply because there is no one to invest in their talents.

“Every other youngster wants to play for their country and they end up going to play elsewhere because there is not much back home in terms of remuneration.

“It is good to have a culture of youngsters looking forward to play for their own country and not outside,” Chavhanga said.

Born December 24, in 1983 in Masvingo, Chavhanga rose to become a South African Rugby Union player and turned out for the South Africa national team, the Springboks.

Chavhanga played for the Stormers in the international Super Rugby competition and left Cape Town in 2010 after he signed a two-year contract with the Lions in September 2009.

He made his international debut for the Springboks as a 21-year-old on June 11, 2005 on the right wing, in a home game against Uruguay at the Basil Kenyon stadium in East London.

The Springboks notched up a large victory, winning 134-3 and Chavhanga scored six tries in the match and at one time held the South African record for the most number of tries scored in one game.

In September 2011 Chavhanga joined Welsh regional side Newport Gwent Dragons. He was released by Newport Gwent Dragons at the end of the 2012–2013 season and returned to South Africa and was included in the Free State Cheetahs squad for the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division season.

To date, Chavhanga, who is based in Cape Town, is into animation.

“I am now into animation, rugby animation. I am hoping to use the uniting power of sport to urge youths to make the right choices in their lives and shun alcohol and drug abuse,” Chavhanga said.

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