WORDS FROM JUSTIN COLES. CHEETAHS AND FORMER ZIMBABWE UNDER 20 WINGER: This will be my first and last post on this group before removing myself from it. It is extremely sad to see that in our country this wonderful game that I love is being torn apart by personal grudges held against certain individuals and that race has become such a large barrier for Zimbabwean Rugbys success. It seems this group should be called Lets Criticize Rugby - Zimbabwe. As a player I have been fortunate enough to experience the game in many different environments. From the Local NRL to the International Stage I have played alongside people from diverse backgrounds and one thing which never stood in the way was wealth, status, religion and RACE. As soon as you put the jersey on it makes no difference where you come from, how much money you have, or the color of your skin. All that matters is that you trust the men on either side of you and you would do anything to not let them down. The same goes for the coach and technical staff who receive very little praise when things go well but when times are tough they are heavily scrutinized. HEAVILY. As a Zimbabwean Rugby player I have immense respect for every man who steps on to the field for club and country because I know how difficult it is to be motivated when there is such little reward for the time spent training and giving your all on the field week in and week out. But notice how you will still go to HSC, OH, and OGs every weekend and see the players their unselfishly and out of respect for each other playing their hearts out. This is Zimbabwean Rugby. We play in hope that one day things will be better in terms of monetary rewards but this is something that is not going to happen overnight and we should not be fooled into thinking that by changing a coach or by questioning the ZRU so severely that things will be resolved by tomorrow. Everyday I see people on this group demanding answers from the ZRU, and I know that these questions are never going to be addressed on a social network because it is unprofessional. If you are seeking answers you need to stop hiding behind this website and set up a meeting to physically go to the ZRU offices and have a civilized conversation with the board so that you can understand the full scope of what management are dealing with. It is not Liam Middletons or anyone elses obligation to provide answers on this platform. There will always be those who criticize their national team when times are hard and there will never be a selection where everyone is happy with the team that is chosen. By writing a post which attacks certain players we are destroying our national team because players begin to question whether they are good enough when they read these posts (which they do read while on tour). Why not just support the team we have sent and uplift them as much as possible before they play? What satisfaction are you going to get by calling players dinosaurs because they have experience or by saying they are not good enough because they play overseas? We need to be more encouraging towards all players because they are not benefitting in any way from playing for their clubs or the nation and are simply doing their best for the love of the sport and trying to improve rugby in our country. I know many people will overlook this post and laugh at what I have tried to put across but please, lets all try to take this game above all others in the country in terms of the support we show to our players from all regions and background and not base our perceptions of people on where they come from or the color of their skin. If we cant find it within ourselves to put the game of rugby above our personal grudges and beliefs then we are fighting a losing battle.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 15:40:23 +0000
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