Zimbabwe national rugby union team

1980s and 1990s - The Golden Generation

In 1980, the Rhodesia Rugby Football Union was renamed the Zimbabwe Rugby Union, reflecting the end of white minority rule in Zimbabwe, and the beginning of the new state. Previously, the Rhodesia side was exclusively all-white, in contrast to the East Africa Tuskers which had been integrated. However, the new Zimbabwe side would instead be integrated, including both black and white players. A tour to England was undertaken that year playing six matches, the first against Surrey at Twickenham and one of the others being against Gloucestershire at Kingsholm on 1 October.^[5] That same year, the ZRU would sever all its ties to the South African Rugby Board due to mounting pressure to boycott the apartheid regime; while Zimbabwe would gain international acceptance was a rugby side, they would no longer have the benefit of having teams in the Currie Cup and other competitions.

They played their first international game as Zimbabwe on 7 July 1981 against Kenya, winning 34 to 24. Throughout the 1980s, Zimbabwe would play a variety of opponents and enjoy a decent amount of success, defeating opponents such as Spain and the Soviet Union; in the victory over the Soviet Union, history was made as Richard Tsimba became the first black player for Zimbabwe. In 1987, Zimbabwe was invited to partake in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup to represent the African continent, instead of South Africa, who were under sanction due to apartheid; unfortunately, the Sables would lose all 3 of their matches, although came on the verge of upsetting Romania (losing by 1 point), a game which featured a two try performance by Richard Tsimba. The following year in 1988, Zimbabwe would become one of the charter members of Rugby Africa, alongside the Ivory Coast, Morocco and Tunisia.

In 1990, Zimbabwe participated in the first Rugby World Cup qualifying competition for the African continent. The team topped a group consisting of the Ivory Coast, Morocco, and Tunisia, qualifying for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. However, unfortunately for the Sables, they would not have much luck, losing all their 3 matches to Ireland, Japan, and Scotland by fairly large margins. After this World Cup would mark the end of an era for Zimbabwe, as many players from Zimbabwe's "Golden Generation" would retire; the end of apartheid meant that South Africa would take the throne as the most dominant nation in African rugby; Namibia and later Kenya would enter the scene, challenging the original four charter members of Rugby Africa, and the slow deterioration of the Zimbabwean economy in the 1990s and into the 2000s would cause many rugby players (both black and white) to leave the country for opportunities elsewhere. An example of this is Kennedy Tsimba, who initially played as a Zimbabwe international, but would later defect to South Africa due to the political and economic situation.^[6]

Zimbabwe finished last in the round robin for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and would finish third in the 1999 qualifying round robin.

2000s - Decline

The Sables would begin the decade in poor form, having lost all four of their matches in the 2000 Africa Cup, against Namibia and a South African Amateur XV; the team narrowly improved in the following edition in 2001, being able to defeat Namibia once by the score of 27 to 26. In the penultimate 2002 edition, Zimbabwe played a close and tense game against Namibia in Harare, but ultimately lost 30 to 42, failing to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

As the decade continued, Zimbabwe would slowly fade from the African rugby scene; the 2004 campaign was disastrous, as Zimbabwe lost to Madagascar for the first time, and would later get thrashed by Namibia. The 2007 Rugby World Cup qualifying campaign was also a disaster, with Zimbabwe losing to Zambia, an opponent they had traditionally dominated. By 2008, the Sables hit rock bottom, losing in the first round of the qualifying for the 2011 World Cup.

2010s - Revival

The 2010s would begin with hope for Zimbabwe. The Sables won the Africa Cup for the first time in 2010, beating Botswana and Madagascar. The following year, after a reform of the Africa Cup divisions, Zimbabwe were placed in Group 1B, alongside familiar foes the Ivory Coast and Madagascar and Uganda. Zimbabwe won the division, defeating both Madagascar and Uganda.

As with many other sports, over the years, numerous talented young Zimbabwean rugby players have emigrated to play for other nations, mainly South Africa but also Australia, Scotland and other European countries. This trend has continued with players being attracted abroad by better playing and coaching facilities, as well as being pushed by the ever-declining economic climate in their country of origin.

The exodus includes some big names, the likes of Ray Mordt, Gary Teichmann, Brian Mujati, Adrian Garvey, Tendai Mtawarira, Bobby Skinstad and Tonderai Chavanga (all to South Africa), David Pocock and Kyle Godwin (all to Australia), Don Armand (to England), David Curtis (to Ireland), Scott Gray, David Denton and Paul Johnstone (all to Scotland), Andy Marinos (to Wales), Takudzwa Ngwenya (to USA), Sebastian Negri (to Italy) and Edmoore Takaendesa and Marcel Coetzee (all to Germany), to name but a few. Many other Zimbabwe-born players are playing at top levels in New Zealand, South Africa, Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland and across Europe.