Zim Rugby union Crisis: SRC defends board suspension

By Sports Writer

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 Sables’ 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 team’s campaign.

Speaking at a Press conference at Rainbow Towers in Harare yesterday, SRC vice-chairperson Shingai Rhuhwaya explained that the commission’s decision was a direct response to serious warnings from international and continental rugby bodies.

“After the successful World Cup qualification, both World Rugby and Rugby Africa engaged Zimbabwe to assess our readiness for the next phase,” Rhuhwaya said.

 “Their conclusion was sobering: the governance state of the Zimbabwe Rugby Union risked blocking critical technical and financial support.”

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 SRC’s long-standing concerns about the union’s operational failures.

“The stark reality was that Zimbabwe could have even faced suspension by the continental and international rugby bodies,” Rhuhwaya added.

 “Our move was to safeguard the success of the Sables, by avoiding having the team’s dreams of a World Cup feature in three decades being nibbed in the bud.”

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 SRC’s 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 women’s national team travelled to Côte d’Ivoire for the Rugby Africa Cup without proper logistical and financial support.

There were also the issues of governance failure, with the national executive board found to be unaware of key financial and administrative decisions made by its own executive committee.

Allegations of corruption and a breakdown of order, where some officials even resorted to hiring individuals to disrupt meetings at the SRC, did not help matters.

The SRC issued a “show-cause order” on September 4, 2025, which prompted the initial resignations.

Last week, the commission suspended the remaining board members.

An interim management committee has since been appointed to manage the union’s affairs until a new board has been put in place.

-AMH