Cheetahs leave for Chile

Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe national sevens rugby team, the Cheetahs, got a boost ahead of the inaugural World Rugby Challenger Series first-leg after they trained at the famed South African High Performance centre.

World Rugby Challenger Series, a new tournament, will be held in Chile from February 15-16. The Zimbabwe Sevens team is made up mostly of home-based players, and they trained in South Africa before they left for Chile yesterday.

Old Hararians legend Rocky Gurumani, who is currently based South Africa, helped them with their training session.

Zimbabwe will join Brazil, Chile, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay and three invitational sides — Colombia, Mexico and Paraguay — at the event.

The second-leg of the event will be held in Uruguay on February 22 and 23.

The final play-off tournament will be hosted alongside the HSBC World Rugby Seven Series from April 3-5 in Hong Kong.

This will be the first test for the new squad that was selected at the Cheetahs sevens’ national trials in Harare last month to strengthen the team and unearth new talent.

The Cheetahs will also compete in the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers against Brazil, Chile, Jamaica, China, Mexico, Samoa, Ireland, Uganda, Tonga, Hong Kong and France for the last spot up for grabs.