Cape Town - Zimbabwe coach Peter de Villiers has thanked fans for their messages of support over the past two weeks.
After losing 45-36 to Kenya in a 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifier on June 30, Zimbabwe travelled to Tunisia where their preparation were severely hampered.
They encountered issues at passport control upon entry to the northern African country, before being forced to sleep on the streets due to their dissatisfaction with conditions at their hotel venue.
Images surfaced on social media of the team lying and sleeping on the streets, although the Tunisia Rugby Union hit back at Zimbabwe’s decision to abandon their hotel venue.
New accommodation was found, but Zimbabwe went on to lose 18-14 to Tunisia to leave their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.
De Villiers took to Twitter after the tour and insisted that they were ready for the Tunisia game, despite the disruptions.
It’s been a hectic 2 weeks for us , we gave it our all in Kenya ???? and the boys showed great improvement and gave Kenya a good run. We had a little bit of a hiccup to the start of our Tunisia ???? leg of the tour, but the boys were ready for the game. pic.twitter.com/cX6mw6Ll59
— Peter De Villiers (@PeterDeVillier5) July 8, 2018
He also shared a video where he thanked Zimbabwean fans for their support of the team.
“Thank you so much for all your support. We are really inspired and draw energy from it," De Villiers said.
De Villiers also heaped praise on the parents and wives of the players.
“Thank you so much, they all needed it. They were treated badly but you carried them through.”
Thank you Sables Fans ????#WeAreStillInTheGame pic.twitter.com/4nDXnBft1C
— Peter De Villiers (@PeterDeVillier5) July 9, 2018
Zimbabwe’s next qualifying match is a must-win encounter against Namibia in Harare on August 4.
The Namibians have won all three of their qualifying matches to date and will be favourites to beat Zimbabwe.