Tinashe Kusema-Zimpapers Sports Hub
WITH the experienced hands of Hilton Mudariki and Kudzi Mashawi sitting this one out, a lot will be expected of the trio of Tyrone Gombe, Dion Khumalo and Tinotenda Mavesere when Zimbabwe take on Uruguay in their penultimate Nations Cup match this evening.
The match starts at 5pm (Zim time).
Zimbabwe and Uruguay enter today’s match at the Trailfinders Sports Ground in Ealing, England, still searching for their first wins after less than impressive campaigns so far.
Both are out of contention for the title in their respective groups, with Zimbabwe bottom of Pool B on two points after four matches.
Georgia top the group with 19 points, while Portugal (17), Spain (13) and Romania (11) follow suit.
Hong Kong China and Zimbabwe are on six and two points respectively.
In the Americas and Pacific group, or Pool A, the US enter as favourites to clinch the group with 19 points, while Samoa and Tonga are second and third, tied on 12 points.
Chile (10), Uruguay (8) and Canada (7) wrap up the log standings.
Now, with the added weight of the title race out of the way, both Zimbabwe and Uruguay go into this match hoping to end their campaigns on a high.
Victory today for either will certainly be a starting point.
Sables’ coach Piet Benade rang in a couple of changes, both tactical and personnel, in hopes of improving his fortunes.
The duo of Mudariki and Mashawi have been left out of the matchday squad entirely.
In their stead, Gombe and Khumalo have been handed rare starts, while Mavesere has been handed the captain’s armband.
It is a move meant to reward the players and also start looking forward to beyond the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
“We have a number of highly experienced players who remain very important to our squad, but we also have a responsibility to ensure that we build our depth and that the younger players build experience so the team is in good shape once these older leaders move on,” said Benade
“We trust that the younger players now have earned enough trust to take ownership and use this opportunity to grow so we are protected in the future,” he said.
Among the other changes, Benade also moved Jason Robertson to the flyhalf position, with Ian Prior making way to the bench.
Tapiwa Mafura reverted to the fullback post, while Matthew McNab was brought in as his replacement at the wing position.
The Sables are coming off a humbling 43-7 defeat to Samoa last weekend.
“Samoa had a number of world class players and certainly tested us in ways we had not been tested in the past,” said the Sables gaffer.
“That is a big advantage to us to now be playing against top teams in the world like that.
“We will learn from every encounter.
“However, we really stuck to our task and finishing the game strong was a big positive. We will need to keep that level going into the remaining two matches.
“I think all around we can improve.
“We took nice steps forward with our set piece and hope to build on that while working on our attack and defensive cohesion,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s opponents, Uruguay, have issues and their own motivations going into the match.
The fixture itself highlights the contrasting coaching regimes guiding both nations toward Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.
Under Benade, Zimbabwe has been on the resurgence.
He led the Sables to back-to-back Rugby Africa Cup titles and qualification to their first Rugby World Cup since 1991.
In contrast, Uruguay recently overhauled their leadership, replacing Rodolfo Ambrósio with Guzmán Barreiro. This comes after Los Teros secured their sixth World Cup appearance by defeating Chile 46-37 on aggregate in 2025.
However, Barreiro hasn’t had the best start with the Uruguay senior rugby national team.
In seven games in charge, he has only managed the one win, and that was a 41-12 win over Paraguay in an international friendly.
