Suburban
She wore the boys kit together with a group of other ambitious girls at Goromonzi High School as they pioneered girls’ rugby at the school.
She never allowed the conditions to deter her ambition and now almost a decade later, she is rubbing shoulders with the best in Spain, with her stock continuing to rise.
For Chido Chingezi it’s not about where you come from but it’s about where you want to be.
Now playing for Club de Rugby del Estrecho as a second centre in the Spanish Andalucía League, the future looks bright for Chingezi and only looks back for inspiration from the humble beginnings.
“As I look back I remember Mrs Chipunza giving us the boys extra kit because we didn’t have any of our own. We wore it with pride and with her encouragement and that of Mr Musara and coach Fumhee, I walk tall with pride today,” said Chingezi.
“I remember the bruises as we were starting and they emboldened me to be who I am at today. Women’s rugby is developing fast here in Spain and I also want to develop my game to the fullest of my potential.
“I want to play for the best clubs here in Europe but above all, I want to represent my country at international level. I want to wear that white and green jersey of my nation Zimbabwe with pride.” Chingezi’s exploits are another example of how more girls and women are making a mark in the game of rugby in Zimbabwe and Africa.
The Zimbabwe Rugby Union has been affording girls and women opportunities to develop their playing, administration and officiating skills as part of a strategy to promote the game of rugby among women.
In May this year, at least 17 dynamic Zimbabwean women participated in World Rugby Training and Education match officiating courses as more females continue to make inroads into the game of rugby across the African continent.
Four women attended the course at Hartsfield in Bulawayo and 13 at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic College in Gwanda.
Another 13 participants attended coaching courses at Hartsfield, while further members were in attendance at the courses offered at the Thomas Coulter School in Hwange, and Chamabondo School in Victoria Falls respectively.
Provincial board chairperson in Hwange, Octavia Munhamo Chikukura, expressed gratitude to the Zimbabwe Rugby Union for the deliberate and conscious move to ensure that all the rugby courses administered in the country includes female attendees.
She said the move would go a long way in encouraging girls’ rugby and women to take up positions of authority within the rugby community and serve as influencers.
Chikukura acknowledged the paradigm shift that has recently seen more women getting involved in the game of rugby.
In line with the safe return of sport requirements, the courses were held in adherence to the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) and World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols.
This meant that only a limited number of participants were accepted then and will be accepted into the courses in future as to meet the Covid-19 restrictions.
As the rollout of the World Rugby courses continues throughout the country more courses are set to be hosted in Plumtree, Gwanda, Beitbridge, Masvingo, Norton, Kwekwe, Gweru, Chirumanzi, Chitungwiza, Marondera and Mutare. — Zim Diaspora Sports Connect/Zimbabwe Rugby Union/Suburban Reporter
