adminto do well.
Having won the inaugural edition of the Spar Zimbabwe International tournament at Harare Sports Club after beating South African provincial side Buffaloes 24-14 in the Cup final, the Cheetahs are now focussing on the prestigious Asian tournament.
In Hong Kong, Zimbabwe will play in the second tier competition where 12 teams will battle to finish among the top three sides that will qualify for core membership from the 2012/13 IRB season.
Over the past few years, the Cheetahs performance has been on an upward trend as they only used to play at the Dubai and South Africa legs of the World Series.
They were added onto the Hong Kong leg and last month they were also added to the London and Edinburgh legs of the series.
But their dream of becoming a core member could soon become a reality and if they finish among the top three in Asia at the end of this month.
However, it was their performance at the weekend that left a positive impression on the crowd, coaches and teams that took part in the local tournament.
They now believe the Cheetahs have what it takes to finish among the top teams and qualify as a core member.
“The side played some good rugby and they showed a lot of flair and good defensive work and, in my opinion, they have the potential to finish among the three best sides and become a core member as well.
“I am sure they have seen their mistakes and in the coming weeks they would be working on them.
“But I think that they must work hard and desist from a tendency of conceding early or starting slow and then get better as the game progresses as that might be costly,” said Schoeman.
South Africa’s Blitzbokke and Kenya are the only African side that are core members and Zimbabwe’s qualification would see them as the third side on the full circuit.
The Cheetahs were the most exciting team at the Spar Sevens tournament as they also beat Schoeman’s SA Academy 14-7, thanks to Mike Morris’ late try to seal the victory, before beating the Buffaloes 24-14 in the final, having led 12-7 at the break.
Wesley Mbanje was on fire throughout the tournament, Manasah Sita’s value could not be under-estimated while the forwards’ duo of captain Jacques Leitao and Fortune Chipendu were influential.
Tangai Nemadire and Gerald Sibanda were slippery with the ball while Justin Coles, Daniel Hondo, Kilvan Magunje and Graham Kaulback proved vital cogs for the Cheetahs with excellent off the ball running and spot on passes.
Leitao believes that the tournament also served as an opportunity for Zimba- bwe to showcase the talent it has and a chance for the young and upcoming players to fight for jerseys in the Cheetahs side.
“This was a good tournament for our preparation for the Hong Kong tournament and the good about this is that the young players managed to showcase what they are capable of doing and possibly fight for a place in the Cheetah.
“It feels great to win in front of your home fans but I should say the Buffaloes played well and gave us a tough time in the first game yesterday (Saturday).
“However, we managed to play them around the park in the final and we got them tired because they are a more physical side and we had to do away with contact and that was how we changed our game plan from the previous games.
“I guess this win comes in as a morale booster for the side going into Hong Kong but we have to bear in mind that the Hong Kong tournament is going to be very tough and competition there is very stiff,” said Leitao.
Cheetahs
Fortune Chipendu, Jacques Leitao (captain), Mike Morris, Manasah Sita, Justin Coles, Graham Kaulback, Kelvin Magunje, Daniel Hondo, Gerald Sibanda, Tangai Nemadire, Jonathan Mcwade, Wesley Mbanje.
Online Reporter