admin
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Cheetahs will open their World Rugby Challenger Series campaign with a clash against Tonga at Markotter Stadium in Stellenbosch, South Africa on April 20.
After that, the Graham Kaulback mentored Cheetahs face Germany on the same day before wrapping up their campaign against Belgium the next day.
The 2023 World Rugby Sevens Challenger competitions will be held during the weekends of April 20 to 22 and April 28 to 30.
The winner of the Challenger Series proceeds to a four-team playoff at the HSBC London Sevens in May.
Played with the same format as the Olympic Games, the Challenger Series has 12 teams drawn into three pools of four.
Zimbabwe are in Pool A, together with Germany, Tonga and Belgium while Pool B has Chile, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and Italy. Uganda, South Korea, Brazil and Jamaica make up Pool C.
The top two teams from each group, as well as the two best third-placed finishers, will qualify for the knockout stages, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals leading to the bronze and gold medal matches.
Meanwhile, the Young Sables will begin their defence of the Rugby Africa Under-20 Barthes Trophy with a clash against Cote d’Ivoire.
The eight team tournament will be hosted by Kenya beginning on April 22. Other quarter final matches will see Kenya take on Uganda. Madagascar will date Tunisia while Namibia face Zambia.
Zimbabwe won the last edition of the competition after beating Namibia in the final.
The young Zimbabweans managed to lift the trophy following their three matches without defeat.
Zimbabwe overpowered Tunisia 19-18 and Madagascar 32-3 in the semi-finals, before beating arch-rivals Namibia 19-14 in the final. Before last year’s success over Namibia, Zimbabwe had last won the competition in 2012. — @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter