adminPaul Munyuki In MIDDELSBURG, South Africa
ZIMBABWE Sevens rugby sides met with mixed fortunes here yesterday on day one of the Nashua Middelburg International tournament with the Cheetahs suffering two defeats while the Goshawks and Mbare Academy shone brightly.Captained by Gardner Nechironga, in the absence of Jacques Leitao, the Sevens flagship team lost 20-19 to Wales before suffering a 38-5 hiding at the hands of hosts South Africa’s Emerging Springboks.
The Goshawks, who together with the Cheetahs were expected to play their third games of the opening day late night yesterday — were powerful enough to overpower whatever came their way with a clean record.
First they beat Pumas lllifa 25-5 in the opening game of the main tournament before getting the better of Bulls Invitational 28-7 with Mbare also dominating in the schools category where they registered three out of four wins.
In their opening game, Victor Pikani’s Academy lost 28-12 to Nelspruit High School before a 35-5 win over Speedies Invitational and a huge 63-0 thumping of Carolina High School to end their day on a bright note.
However, the Cheetahs left their fans heartbroken. Winger Tafadzwa Chitokwindo was outstanding but received very little support from the rest of the side.
The Cheetahs could have won at least one of their opening games and took a 12-10 lead against Wales going into the break courtesy of tries from forward Tapiwa Tsomondo and debutante Hilton Mudariki’s converted effort.
But things changed in the second half as Zimbabwe conceded two unconverted tries. However, the worst was yet to come and coupled with poor and questionable refereeing, Zimbabwe were always going to struggle against the South Africans and were down 5-19 at the break.
They never recovered.
Interestingly, coach Gilbert “Gidza” Nyamutsamba said he was impressed with the way his youthful squad performed in the opening two games.
“We had a great start to the tournament as we gave Wales a tough time and went into the break leading and though we went on to lose that lead, the fact that the boys kept on fighting and added another try shows that they have a good fighting spirit,” said Nyamutsamba.
“It was important to note that the rookies in the squad were able to adapt playing against such a huge team and so far I am impressed with what they have shown on day one.
“Against South Africa, that was another learning curve again. Our boys failed to gain momentum and we did not pick up from where we left against Wales.”
Online Reporter