Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S Sables are back at the Rugby World Cup, but it appears they are not ready for what comes with it.
It should feel like a clean moment, a chance to look ahead and talk about combinations, depth and how far this team can push itself once it gets there. That is not where this story sits.
The Sables are part of the 2027 tournament in Australia, an expanded competition that will bring together 24 teams across 52 matches, with early ticket demand already pointing to the scale of what is coming.
Back home, the conversation has shifted away from the field and settled on something far less comfortable — how a World Cup team is built when the basics around it are still not fully in place.
The Zimbabwe Rugby union (ZRU) has been blunt.
Around US$5 million a year is what it believes is needed to prepare this side properly through the Nations Cup cycle and into the tournament itself.
That figure touches everything from player welfare to the level of opposition the team can face consistently.
“We have got our players’ training, we need to give the games that will match the intensity that they get at the World Cup and, more importantly, we have player welfare to look out for,” said ZRU general manager T.J. Chifokoyo.
“It is just a staggered plan for now, but it increases as we go from April to May to June and so on. The most important thing for us is to be able to land on our feet in 2028.”
That line shifts the tone of the whole conversation. It moves it away from what Zimbabwe might achieve and towards whether the team will be properly equipped when it arrives.
Qualifying for a World Cup and competing at one are not the same thing.
The build-up reflects that gap.
The Sables will go through the newly introduced Nations Cup, a second-tier global competition designed to give emerging rugby nations sustained exposure to stronger opposition.
The opportunity is real, and long overdue.
Zimbabwe have been placed in the Afro-EuroAsia pool, alongside Georgia, Portugal, Hong Kong, Romania and Spain.
Across the draw sit Canada, Chile, Samoa, Tonga, the United States and Uruguay. There is no easing into this.
Their campaign begins on July 4 against Tonga before moving quickly into fixtures against the US and Canada, a sequence that demands physical readiness and mental sharpness from the start, especially against teams that have been operating at a higher level with greater consistency.
But even as that programme takes shape, the Sables are dealing with issues that have nothing to do with the game.
Travel has become uncertain.
The US has paused routine visa applications for Zimbabwean citizens, forcing the union into urgent engagements through diplomatic channels, while also leaning on World Rugby for support.
At the same time, global air travel disruptions linked to unrest in the Middle East have crept into planning, adding another layer of pressure to a campaign that already carries enough weight.
“We are in communication with the US consulate in Pretoria to see how we can get visas, and we are also getting assistance from World Rugby in that regard,” said Chifokoyo.
“Sport is a unifier; it is a binder and we hope to get that situation sorted as soon as possible.
“We have reached out to the US Embassy here in Harare and we look forward to their response to see if there is some way we can work together to make sure that this high-profile event does not get affected.”
There is effort to keep things moving.
But these are not small disruptions, especially for a team expected to play key fixtures on American soil.
Running alongside that is the financial load, which does not ease at any point in this cycle.
The Nations Cup alone demands long-haul travel across North America in July, followed by a European block in November where Zimbabwe will base themselves for camp and matches.
Even that detail carries its own message — the Sables will host their home fixtures in England.
A World Cup-bound team preparing for home matches away from home.
“We have tournaments that we have to fly out to, starting with the trips to the United States and Canada in July for the Nations Cup,” said Chifokoyo.
“In November, we go to Europe, camping there and playing our games there. All of that is quite a huge cost.”
Flights, accommodation, match preparation, medical support and technical staff all sit inside that US$5 million estimate. It is not an ambition. It is a requirement.
And yet, within all of this, there is a quieter shift that should not be lost.
The rugby itself is moving forward.
For the first time in a long while, Zimbabwe will have access to consistent, structured competition against teams that demand more every time they step on the field.
That kind of exposure can shape a World Cup campaign, if it is matched with the right support around it.
“We are spoilt for choice in terms of quality opposition,” Chifokoyo said.
Zimbabwe are no longer trying to break into the global conversation. They are in it.
What remains uncertain is how firmly they can hold their place there.
This is no longer about getting to the World Cup. That part has been done.
It is about arriving in Australia with a team that has been prepared properly, travelled properly and given a fair chance to compete.
Right now, that work is still unfolding.
