BY SPORTSCAST WRITER
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s rugby team has been rewarded with cash by the country’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday following a memorable year in which the Sables won the Africa Cup and finished with a 100 percent record in five Tests.
Every member of the squad, both players and technical staff, received US$ 6 500 each at a function at State House in the Zimbabwean capital city Harare.
Captain Hilton Mudariki and head coach Piet Benade led the locally-based contingent of the Sables to the president’s official residence.
Zimbabwe were crowned African champions in Uganda in July after defeating the hosts, Namibia and Algeria. The Sables then also beat the United Arab Emirates and South Korea on an end-of-year tour of the Middle East and Asia in November.
ZRU president Losson Mtongwiza presents Mr. Mnangagwa with a Sables jersey signed by players.
The $6 500 given to the Sables matches what Mnangagwa gave Zimbabwe’s football team, the Warriors, for qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Mnangagwa praised the Sables for displaying “team-work and patriotism” in their “collective and individual efforts” at the Africa Cup.
Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) president Losson Mtongwiza and Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) chairman Gerald Mlotshwa accompanied the team to State House. Mtongwiza presented Mnangagwa with a signed Sables replica jersey.
