[3] The history of cricket and rugby were closely tied to the early development of the country and were the most central components of white settler sport culture.

[4] Through the political efforts of William Henry Milton and other early administrators, rugby governance became highly structured and was introduced to schools across the country.

This has created several weaknesses to the strength of the game, as the side relied upon South African competition for its development and was not able to achieve racial and class integration that it should have until after 1980.

[6] Regardless of these challenges, the country still produces dozens of quality rugby players who mostly ply their trade in England, Scotland, South Africa and Australia amongst others.

[7] Rugby union gets moderate media coverage, often peaking in World Cup years, compared to more popular team sports such as association football and cricket.

[8] There are pockets where rugby is particularly popular, such as the city of Harare and the Mashonaland East region, especially Marondera with its high quality boarding schools.

[11] Unfortunately after high school, the best players tend to move on to South Africa or the UK, due to a lack of professionalism and greater educational and earning opportunities abroad, thus depleting the strength of rugby union in Zimbabwe.

However, there is hope that the large Zimbabwean diaspora, particularly those in South Africa, Britain and New Zealand, can help revitalize the fortunes of the national squad, as is increasingly the case in football.