Former rugby boss defends Sevens squad

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.