Rwanda national rugby team captain Jean de Dieu Hakizimana has urged managers of the sport in the country – RRF to organise more friendlies for the side to gain more experience.
According to Rwanda New Times, the skipper believes “Silverbacks (the national side) can only improve and be able to compete in international tournaments, if they get opportunities to face regional teams such as Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi.”
Rwanda failed to qualify for the 2018 IB Africa Rugby tournament which was held in Zambia.
“We were all disappointed with how we played in Zambia, you could see that the boys are good but they lack the exposure to play in big games,” Hakizimana told Times Sport.
“We need a strong team that can compete in regional and continental competitions and you cannot gain that competitive advantage if you have not actually competed at the level before.”
The Silverbacks were humiliated 93-03 by Zambia in Lusaka.
They had started the tournament with a convincing 24-03 win over Mauritius but all got soiled as Zambia gained promotion.