Tinashe Kusema-Zimpapers Sports Hub
FORTUNE CHIPENDU is not fretting over Zimbabwe’s fifth-place finish at this past weekend’s Safari Sevens rugby tournament.
In fact, the Cheetahs head coach has labelled it a fair result as it opened his eyes to his team’s needs and requirements as Zimbabwe continue their preparations for the World Rugby HSBC SVNS 3 tournament in Dubai.
“I was quite happy with how the boys fared at the Safari Sevens,” said Chipendu.
“There were a lot of competitive teams in this tournament and I think the boys stuck to their guns, played well and showed great character when the chips were down.
“We started rather low in our early games but they got better and better as the tournament progressed.
“This is our second tournament as a new technical team, after the Africa Cup, and the Safari Sevens brought with it new challenges, what with a higher level of competition, more well-drilled teams and a good test for our teams to judge where they stand in terms of match fitness, game awareness and skills.
“So, yes, a fifth-place finish is a fair result, also taking into consideration that we didn’t take our strongest side to Kenya and we had four brand new players in the system.
“They played well and put their hands up for future selection,” he said.
The Safari Sevens, for the most part, went according to script as the Kenya Shujaa defeated their developmental team, the Kenya Morans, 24-5 in an all-Kenyan final on Sunday.
This saw Shujaa capture an unprecedented fifth consecutive Safari 7s title, extending their streak and grip on the tournament across the 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026 editions.
The Cheetahs, unfortunately, had to settle for fifth after finishing second in the group, tied on points and separated on points aggregate with the Kenya Morans.
Zimbabwe beat Wonder 7s (22-14) and GEL 7s (24-17) before drawing against the Kenya Morans 12-all in the group stages.
They then went through to the quarter-finals as group runners-up, after which they fell to the French Renegades 12-17.
In the placement matches, Zimbabwe beat the Wanderer 7s (17-12) and then wrapped up their participation at the tournament with a 19-17 win over Fast Forward 7s to clinch fifth place.
While happy with the progress, Chipendu expressed reservations over his team’s defence which continues to be their biggest weakness.
“We failed to convert some good inter-play into tries and, most importantly, leaked way too many tries,” said the Cheetahs gaffer.
“While there were some positives with the guys showing great character and new guys stepping up, our defence was once again exposed.
“We let teams score easy tries against us and that is something that we need to continue working on going forward.
“We studied our opponents, seeing how they defend, how they structure their defensive patterns in the game and we have got a few ideas that we hope to work on and implement,” he said.
Chipendu does not intend to sit on his laurels as the World Rugby HSBC SVNS 3 tournament in Dubai looms.
As the dates are yet to be finalised and announced, Chipendu hopes to use the time to polish up on the Cheetahs’ inter-play.
Ideally, he would love a local provincial tournament and the return of the Zambezi Challenge Cup.
“We just want to build on our player base ahead of the HSBC SVNS 3 tournament in Dubai,” he said.
“While we wait for the dates to be confirmed, we are looking at hosting two local tournaments where we hope to invite sevens players from every province in the country to have a look at them and expand our player base.
“Hopefully, we will also have time for the Zambezi Challenge Cup so we give those players a run and give them competitive game time.
“We know Kenya will be hosting their leg of the HSBC SVNS 2 and we will also be watching with the intent of gauging the level of competition and how other teams are faring.
“Of course, qualifying for the HSBC SVNS 2 is the main goal for every team that we will face in Dubai and it helps to see what will be in store for us should we qualify,” he said.
