THE Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) has stated that the suspension of the Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) national executive board was a necessary move to protect the Zimbabwe Sablesâ dream of competing in the World Cup. According to the SRC, the action was taken to prevent the union from being suspended by World Rugby, which would have ended the teamâs campaign. Speaking at a Press conference at Rainbow Towers in Harare yesterday, SRC vice-chairperson Shingai Rhuhwaya explained that the commissionâs decision was a direct response to serious warnings from international and continental rugby bodies.
âAfter the successful World Cup qualification, both World Rugby and Rugby Africa engaged Zimbabwe to assess our readiness for the next phase,â Rhuhwaya said. âTheir conclusion was sobering: the governance state of the Zimbabwe Rugby Union risked blocking critical technical and financial support.â Rhuhwaya emphasised that the SRC was acting on the advice of Rugby Africa, whose president, Herbert Mensah, had recommended the dissolution of the ZRU board. This aligned with the SRCâs long-standing concerns about the unionâs operational failures.
âThe stark reality was that Zimbabwe could have even faced suspension by the continental and international rugby bodies,â Rhuhwaya added. âOur move was to safeguard the success of the Sables, by avoiding having the teamâs dreams of a World Cup feature in three decades being nibbed in the bud.â The SRC detailed a litany of governance and financial issues that led to the suspension, highlighting that the board had already collapsed beyond measure, with eight members having voluntarily resigned before the SRCâs official action. Among the specific failures cited were financial mismanagement after the board failed to provide audited financial statements for two consecutive years. There was also the Lady Sables crisis, where the womenâs national team travelled to CĂŽte dâIvoire for the Rugby Africa Cup without proper logistical and financial support.
