Former rugby boss defends Sevens squad
Calistus Kolantsho | Thursday December 4, 2014 10:48
Gilbert said the BRU is not being fair on the players and their expectations at the tournament were unrealistic. He said countries that participated in the tournament are in the top 12 ranked countries in Africa and that is a challenge on its own. He said most of the countries that participated in the tournament, such as South Africa have professional players in their ranks. He said the local players either work for Botswana Defence Force (BDF) or are students at the University of Botswana. He said for BRU to set a target of a top eight finish was unrealistic. Gilbert said this created unnecessary pressure on players, most of whom did not have experience at such a high level.
“You must also consider the amount of money that was spent in the preparations of the team. It was little when compared to other countries. I do not want to see the team being castigated when they have done all they could against tough competition,” he said.
He argued that the results are an indication of the amount of preparation put on the team. He said next year the union should give players a programme that they should follow and qualifying will be easy. Gilbert suggested that there should be camps for the players on a regular basis as this will ensure that they are well conditioned ahead of any major tournament. Gilbert said even coaches did not have experience required at a tournament of such magnitude but they did their best under the circumstances.
He pointed out that he expected the team to finish 12th but getting 10th position is an achievement. He added that they played in a tough pool. Botswana was pitted in Pool A alongside South Africa, Tunisia, Senegal and Zambia.
The Sevens team to Zimbabwe: Tshoganetso Katse (captain), Ketshedile Matenanga, Debule Omphile, Biki Mawela, Kagiso Molefi, Bigboy Bushe, Bafana Lekgobo, Alphius Mokotedi, James Shankwaka, Tefo Ramoroka, Dent Patrick and Emmanuel Ntshiwa. The technical team comprised of Seabe Gabatladiwe (coach), Kabo Batsile (assistant coach) and Zilwele Khumalo (team manager).