Vusumuzi Dube
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Burkina Faso national men’s rugby team is headed for Harare where they will take on the Zimbabwe Sables in two Rugby Africa Cup fixtures to be played at Old Georgians Sports Club.
A post on the Burkina Faso Rugby Federation Facebook page showed the Stallions on the plane as they headed to Zimbabwe, with the team expected to arrive on Friday.
Burkina Faso, winners of last month’s Rugby Africa repechage which also featured Cameroon and Burundi held in Ouagadougou will face the Sables of Zimbabwe in back to back fixtures in Harare on 18 and 22 July prior to their departure on 23 July.
Rugby Africa were forced to change the venue for pool D when Tunisia withdrew as the host nation due to rising Covid-19 cases in the North African country. As if that was not enough, Tunisia were also stopped from travelling to Zimbabwe by their Government, which left pool D with just two countries.
The matches between the Sables and the Stallions will be played under strict Covid-19 guidelines with no spectators inside the stadium.
After the withdrawal of Tunisia, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso are now guaranteed of progressing to the next stage of the Rugby Africa Cup, with the two matches in Harare to determine which teams finishes on top. Winners of the pool will face off against Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals while the runner has Namibia waiting for them in the last eight.
Brendan Dawson’s men, who have been in camp since 16 May will get to enjoy home advantage against Burkina Faso in a crucial tournament that serves as a qualification pathway for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
@Mdawini_29
Online Reporter