Rugby Rwanda coach joins the Silverbacks

&NewLine;<p> A new era has dawned upon the Rwandan national rugby team as they progress further in their bid to become a competitive rugby playing nation&period; Gilbert Simbarashe Mandiringana has recently joined the team as their first ever strength and conditioning coach&comma; a crucial step he believes as the sport attempts to move toward professionalism&period;<br> According to a release by Apo Group&comma; made available to OpenLife&comma; Gilbert joins the coaching staff of head coach Claude Ezoua and assistant coach John Livingstone Muhire and believes a lot of hard work lays ahead&period;<br> &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Physical preparation is the basis of any good sporting performance and I look forward to a long and successful journey with the Silverbacks&period;<br> Our goals will not be achieved overnight but will take years as we try to instil a culture of professional preparation in all our players”<br> Gilbert an Exercise Physiologist from South Africa believes a larger investment is needed in Rwandan rugby if they are to constantly compete with their neighbours&period; With rugby seen still as relatively amateur in the country&comma; a keen eye is firmly placed on the youth&period;<br> &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;If rugby is to progress well in this country&comma; we will have to have systems and structures in place to develop the game amongst the youth&comma; this should be our main objective&period; We need to setup academies for our young players to specifically develop them to be competitive on the international stage”<br> However&comma; for this current team it is important to start slow and build their way up the African rugby rankings&period; With experienced coach Claude Aime Ezoua at the helm&comma; preparations are well under way for a competitive fixture of Rugby Africa Cup against the Ivory Coast on 23rd November &comma;2019 in Abidjan &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;My role so far is to observe and assist the coach in any way I can whilst slowly introducing the ideas of sport science to the guys&period; I look forward to seeing how we develop but this can only be achieved by constant support from our federation&comma; government and sponsors&period; To condition an athlete to play at the highest level&comma; it takes years of dedication coupled with the resources and facilities to make it happen”<br> While he believes the opening of a high-performance centre is the only way to take Rwandan rugby to the next stage&comma; the new coach remains optimistic and excited about the future of the Silverbacks&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;