Mandenge, Brider to attain Level 3 coaching badges

15 May, 2016 - 00:05 0 Views

The Sunday News

Mehluli Sibanda Senior Sports Reporter
NATIONAL rugby team coaches Cyprian Mandenge and Brendon Brider are set to head off to Castres, France at the end of the month where they are expected to complete the year-long World Rugby Level three coaching badges. Mandenge, the Zimbabwe Sables coach and Under-20 mentor Brider were in France last year for the first part towards obtaining the high level qualification. Also in attendance at the same top level workshop held in Marcoussis, 24.8 kilometres from the French capital Paris, were participants from Kenya, South Africa, Tunisia, Senegal, Namibia and Madagascar.

Marcoussis serves as the international centre for European country’s rugby.

Mandenge said in order for him to bag the qualification, he was obliged to complete a diary which he was to hand over to his French trainer Jean-Marc Bederede by 20 January this year. He managed to hand over the diary, which contains the coach’s viewpoint and approach to the game, by the time of the deadline.

Mandenge disclosed that the Level three qualification was equivalent to a Masters Degree because at that level the coach looked at the game from a different perspective.

“We leave for France on 28 May, the course starts 30 May and ends 3 June. It is more about completing of a diary, my trainer is Jean-Marc Bederede. It is based more on the diary that you do and you send it which contains your philosophy and plans. My deadline was 20 January which I met,’’ said Mandenge.

“A coach can fail but you do get the transcript. At Level three you start looking at the game in a different manner, you dissect it, every area on the field, all the specifics of the game, it is an eye opener and improves you as a coach.

“It is the equivalent of a Masters Degree because you come up with booklet that is over 100 pages from scratch where you come up with your own philosophy, principles of attack, defence, how you are going to run your training sessions. You get to rank your players in terms of positions, this is what I need for a player playing in this position.’’

Level three is the highest coaching qualification at World Rugby level. There are options for mentors to go a notch up and venture into elite coaching after securing the qualification.

Zimbabwe Rugby Union director of rugby Brighton Chivandire is the only coach in the country who holds the highest coaching qualification. Chivandire said by the end of the year, the country could have five others at the same level as besides Mandenge as well as Brider, Sables assistant coach Nsikelelo Sibanda and former national senior team mentor Brendan Dawson were also due to complete the same course in South Africa which they started last year.

Meanwhile, Mandenge revealed that the Sables have been training every Wednesday and looking to introduce Sunday sessions as well ahead of the Africa Cup Division 1A assignments in July and August. Zimbabwe face Kenya on 9 July before a clash with Uganda on 23 July.

Runners up to Namibia in last year’s Africa Cup Division 1A, the Sables clash with the Namibians away on 6 August.

“We have been training every Wednesday, we are now looking to train on Sundays as well. In Harare we have just over 30 players, the Bulawayo guys are under Ruben Kumpasa who is working with about 20 players. We are planning to come down with coaches from Harare and run sessions Friday through to Sunday in Bulawayo,’’ said Mandenge, adding that they had a squad of 70, including foreign-based players who were in contention for the final slots.

Last year, the Sables saw off a determined Kenya 28-20, defeated Tunisia 19-8 with both fixtures staged at the Prince Edward School Jubilee Field.

The Sables were, however, annihilated by the Namibians who thrashed Zimbabwe 80-6 in Windhoek for the Welwitschias to retain the Africa Cup they won in 2014. Tunisia were relegated to Division 1B while Uganda earned promotion.

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