Rugby official, coach exchange blows
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday September 29, 2017 10:12
Irish’s decision to replace the coach with Andrew Paxinos infuriated Gabatladiwe. The decision to replace Gabatladiwe was later rescinded.
Gabatladiwe told Mmegi Sport that there was no communication from Irish to him regarding technical changes.
“I only learnt about some things from the players. That did not go down well with me. I wasn’t happy when I found Paxinos at training and I lost my temper, which ended up in the confrontation,” Gabatladiwe said. He said he lodged an official complaint at the office and the BRU said it was unaware of any changes to the technical team. No comment could be obtained from Irish at press time.
Meanwhile, BRU development officer, Fredrick Kebadiretse has been replaced with Ernest Mantsi as the team manager. Contacted for comment, Mantsi refused to comment on the incident and the changes. The Sevens team leaves for the Rugby Africa Sevens circuit in Uganda on Tuesday.
Mantsi said the team has been training and went into camp yesterday. He said their target at the competition is to improve the Sevens rankings in Africa. “The coach has selected his best players. We had an opportunity to take two teams to the last Sevens tournament held in Zambia. That competition gave players an opportunity to prove themselves,” he said.