Former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has never been one to hold his tongue, and when he was announced as the new Zimbabwe coach he was very keen to throw people under the bus.

He claimed SA Rugby blacklisted him, that the same organisation paid unions not to hire him, and that he laughs in the face of danger.

You can dig into all of that over here and here, but the latest update from our neighbours up north is actually very sad.

Pictures have now emerged of Zimbabwe’s national team sleeping on the streets in Tunisia ahead of a Rugby World Cup qualifier, as Sport24 reports:

…their preparation for the match has been hampered, allegedly as a result of appalling accommodation and a lack of funds.

Images have surfaced on social media… of the team, coached by former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers, lying and sleeping on the streets.

Other reports indicated that they were held up at the airport for hours when authorities took their passports after they were unable to pay a visa fee.

One of the Zimbabwe players, flank Takudzwa Mandiwanza, told Zimbabwean radio station Capitalk FM that the tour has been a “shambles”.

“We have not been paid our daily allowances for our duration in Kenya, including our match fees that we did not receive. Now we’re in Tunisia, we were detained at the airport for close to six hours, with no allowances given to us.”

He added that De Villiers had bought the players sandwiches and drinks out of his own pocket.

“We’d be hungry right now. The situation is very frustrating and disheartening.”

Peter de Villiers being forced to buy his squad food out of his own pocket is such a sad indictment of another Zimbabwean national sporting team hung out to dry by their officials.

There seems to be a story every month about the cricket team having to fight the board for their wages, and I guess the same goes for their rugby.

That second image comes from this Patience Musa tweet, and also includes this photo:

Here’s another, tweeted by Report Focus News‏:

These images, doing the rounds on social media, seem to have spurred some people into action. Times LIVE below:

“Rugby Africa has been made aware of the difficulties encountered by the Zimbabwean Rugby team – the Sables – with regards to their accommodation in Tunisia‚” Rugby Africa said in a statement…

Some reports suggest they were asked to pay a 20-euro (R320) visa fee per man at the airport‚ which they couldn’t afford and were held there for 10-hours after the squad’s passports were retained by officials…

Khaled Babbou‚ executive member of Rugby Africa‚ has been sent to the city of Beja to inspect the facilities and meet with the Sables team.

“I apologise on behalf of Tunisia Rugby Union‚” Babbou said. “We pride ourselves in hosting Rugby Africa tournaments every year and make every effort to meet the best international standards in terms of accommodation and other infrastructure.

“Something went wrong for which I am sorry‚ but this was corrected this morning in consultation with the Sables management team. I can assure you that there was absolutely no intention to destabilise our opponents and we will make every possible effort to ensure they have a good preparation ahead of Saturday’s match.”

Let’s just hope it’s resolved and the Zimbabwean team manages to get some rest ahead of their qualifier this weekend.

Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from a sleep-deprived Divvy.

[sources:sport24&timeslive]