NEWLY-appointed Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) president Aaron Jani has vowed to hit the ground running in a bid to make up for lost time after being installed as the substantive boss of the local rugby governing body.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
Jani, who has previously served as the union’s vice-president was elected unopposed during a special ZRU elective general assembly meeting at Prince Edward School yesterday after the interim president Russell Karimazondo, who had been nominated for the post withdrew his candidature before the elections.
The elections also saw seasoned rugby administrator Losson Mtongwiza bounce back as vice-president (North) after beating Tungamirai Mashungu by nine votes to two while Martin Shone beat Dave Nash by a similar margin for the vice-president (South).
Yesterday’s election marked a new era for the domestic game, which had been facing a bleak future since the suspension and subsequent appointment of an interim committee-led by former Sables wing Karimazondo.
Jani, who also played international rugby for the Sables in the early 90s and served as chairman of the Under-20 committee, said he was aware of the need to get straight to business ahead of a hectic schedule in 2018.
“First of all I’d like to really thank the provinces and interested parties who have confidence shown in me. Now the real work begins, we have an intense programme in 2018 and we now need to set up the structures, invite people who can help us to get everything moving,” he said.
Jani’s excecutive committee faces the immediate task of appointing a substantive Sables coach to replace Cyprian Mandenge ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifiers, which start in June while the Cheetahs are scheduled to compete at the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens.
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“It’s going to be a lot of work and this December there’s not going to be a Christmas. We will start by setting up a technical committee which is going to be handling all the appointments. That is my first task; we have to make sure we get qualified people in who will lead us in terms of the selection of the substantive Sables coach.
Jani, who contested and lost to Sibanda in the race for the ZRU presidency last year said he decided to give it another go due to a burning desire to change the fortunes of Zimbabwe rugby as a way of giving back to the sport.
“I couldn’t just leave the way things were in rugby, it was disheartening to see how things had gone down and I thought it was my duty to try and come back and resolve things as I have benefitted so much from being a student of rugby and being a product of rugby. I hope this is the beginning of turning things around so that we begin to see rugby as we have seen it before.
Jane also promised to bring back corporate confidence to the game.
“My message to the corporate world is that we have closed a chapter on what happened previously. We are putting in the structures, so be confident that whatever the support you give Zimbabwe Rugby is going to be well worth it and going to be used for the good of rugby,” he said.
The elections were observed by the vice-president of Rugby Africa David Gilbert and World Rugby official Steph Nel.
