Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo, Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S Sables are ramping up their preparations for the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup in Uganda this July, and Head Coach Pieter Benade has enthusiastically highlighted the game-changing influence of forwards coach Joel Carew.
Carew, brought into the Sables fold before last year’s Africa Cup, is credited by Benade with playing a pivotal, transformative role in the team’s development. The Sables’ gaffer fondly recalled the exceptional performance of their scrums at last year’s continental tournament, a clear demonstration of Carew’s highly regarded expertise.
“We needed someone I knew could add value, we needed someone to come and own the scrum. We do have local boys working but we needed someone with experience and it was a no brainer to have Joel come and assist us.
“In the Africa Cup I don’t think we went backwards in one scrum, we got penalised once in the final when we had a yellow card. It was just a communication error where we exposed the tighthead by putting the flanker on the other side. The tighthead didn’t have the support of the prop. But, there was no scrum in the Africa Cup where we went backwards, in fact, we got a few crucial scrum penalties against Namibia and even Uganda,” said Benade.
Benade, widely credited with transforming the Sables into what many are now calling ‘The Dream Team’, revealed his long-standing ambition: to build a world-class coaching department for the national side. He expressed satisfaction with the progress made towards this goal.
“At international rugby you are not going to dominate every scrum, you have to pick your moments, when to attack a scrum and those are things that Joel is good at. The plan was to always have a world class, or close to a world-class coaching group. There are different components to our sport which all need a lot of attention and the line-out is one of the most important, contesting and our attacking line-out,” he said.
In his own words, Carew said he has enjoyed the experience and was charmed with the talent Zimbabwe possesses.
“Pieter and I have been coaching since 2015/16 together and I am grateful for this opportunity. We have been scrumming well and there is proper work ethic around the park. There are proper ballers especially in the forwards so we need to utilise that in terms of moving the ball, and up until now it has been good.
“I was surprised when I joined the squad in June (last year), from the first practice I told the coaching staff that we have the players to win this thing. The players live for the game, the amount of talent in Zimbabwe is next level which is good to see. We need to groom them in the right way,” said Carew.
The Sables are set to regroup this Sunday to continue their preparations for next month’s Rugby Africa Cup in Uganda. This tournament is a crucial qualifier for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and Zimbabwe hopes to secure their first appearance at the global showpiece since 1991.
Benade and his technical team are also expected to welcome the foreign-based players before finalising the squad travelling to Uganda.
As preparations intensify, the Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) announced a new partnership with Alliance Health. Paul Dewar, Alliance Health’s managing director, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration.
“We saw this as a great opportunity to partner with people that represent our brand. The Sables have an incredible opportunity ahead of them and this is one of the best teams Zimbabwe has put forward for years. We are honoured to put our name behind them and have their back as they go forward representing the country,” Dewar stated.
For the 2025 Africa Cup, scheduled from 20 to 28 July, the Sables are grouped with tough competitors: Morocco, Kenya, and hosts Uganda. Zimbabwe enters the tournament as defending champions and the top seed, beginning their campaign at the quarter-final stage against Morocco. – @brandon_malvin.
