JAYSON KARAN
Zimbabwe Rugby mourns the loss of one of the greatest rugby legends and former Springboks coach Ian McIntosh on.
Ian McIntosh who coached South Africa rugby team from 1993 to 1994 passed away at the age of 84 after a hard battle with cancer.
Both countries, South Africa and Zimbabwe has been paying tribute to the legendary coach and one of the likable character in rugby.
Popularly known as ‘Mac or the Master’, the late McIntosh contributed a lot to rugby during his years with both Zimbabwe and South Africa and this saw him being honored by the World Rugby with a prestigious Vernon Pugh award in 2013.
In 2021, the South African rugby giants, Sharks also managed to honour their legendary coach by naming their main entrance gateway to Kings Park Stadium in his honor.
“Mac left an indelible mark on the global rugby landscape, but more-so in South Africa and his beloved Sharks as he was into rugby all the time,” said Mark Alexander, president of South Africa Rugby.
Even though Ian McIntosh spent his adulthood in South Africa, he never broke his ties with his home Zimbabwe where he was born in Bulawayo.
He was also the brains behind the matches between Zimbabwe and South African Rugby Legends with the first one that was played in 2013 at Hartsfieds Grounds in Bulawayo and many other games played between the two Southern African countries.
The last one was played at Esigidini at Falcon College in July 2018.
McIntosh career’s started in his country of birth before he took over in South Africa. Despite being in South Africa, Ian McIntosh continued to monitoring the Zimbabwe players.
ZIMBABWE Rugby Union president Aaron Jani has described the late former Sables and South Africa Springbok coach Ian McIntosh as a passionate student of the game who had an undying passion for the development of rugby in the country.
Jani, who had the privilege of working with the legendary McIntosh from his playing days and later when he ventured into rugby administration, described the revered coach as a long time benefactor of Zimbabwe rugby.
“This is a very sad development and our sincere condolences to Ian’s family. For us as the Zimbabwe Rugby Union Ian was a student of the game and he did a lot to support Zimbabwe when he was in South Africa at the peak of his career as a coach,” Jani said
“Even after moving to South Africa, he would come to Zimbabwe whenever he was asked to come through to assist the national team in terms of coaching. If you think of someone like Adrian Garvey, his career wouldn’t have blossomed the way it did without Ian McIntosh, he is the one who did a lot of heavy lifting and facilitation for Adrian Garvey to go to South Africa,” added Jani.
According to Jani, McIntosh will be forever missed in both countries but especially here in Zimbabwe as he left an indelible mark on the local rugby landscape, as he did all he could to assist local rugby even after moving to South Africa.