Zimbabwe Rugby head coach Brendan Dawson has outlined next year’s world cup qualifiers in France as the intended pathway to reach their goal of qualifying for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Also known as the Sables, the Zimbabwean team has undergone rapid growth over the last 18 months, largely due to an influx of sponsorship. The union is now making waves in the social media space to bring information to the supporters and grow their loyal fanbase.
“Obviously, with all this new social media, we’ve got a really good, you know, two guys, our manager, and one of our guys work on them in marketing in the media for us, so it really pays off for us, and it really does well for us.” said Dawson.
Zimbabwe has been absent from the Rugby World Cup since 1991, and coach Dawson, who was part of the 1991 side, is eager to propel his country back to the sport’s showpiece event.
“We want to qualify, we haven’t been to a World Cup since 1991. So we want to make sure that we get there and we’re going to dig deep to make sure that we can get every bit of players, sponsorship, money and support, love and support from everybody all over the world. You know, Zimbabweans are spread all over the world and we know that they follow and they look up to us,” passionately exclaimed the Zimbabwean.
Before the Sables can begin to dream, their focus must be on Saturday’s clash with Namibia in the World Rugby Stellenbosch Challenge. The rivalry between the countries has always been fierce, dating back to Dawson’s playing days.
“Obviously, it’s always a big contest between Zimbabwe and Namibia and has been like that since 1990 ,when I was playing against them. It has always been a massive Test match. And, you know, we’ve always been hyped up to be one of the best test matches outside of South Africa.”
The task ahead remains a challenge for the Sables as Namibia are vying for the same qualification spot. There are sure to be fireworks in the all African clash. Make sure you catch the stream on World Rugby’s Facebook page at 1400 on Saturday.