adminBukhosi Mangena Sports Correspondent
ZIMBABWE Rugby Union (ZRU) director of rugby Bright Chivandire is confident that the Cheetahs and Women Cheetahs will win their respective rugby sevens’ repechage tournaments scheduled for June.
The men’s repechage tourney is scheduled for June 18-19 in Monaco whilst Dublin, Ireland, will host the women’s event from June 25-26.
A repechage tournament is a last-chance qualifying event in which the runners-up in earlier qualifiers compete against each other, with the winner advancing to the finals.
ZRU confirmed their participation last week by including the repechage events in their season calendar as they seek to garner the two remaining slots for the Rio Olympics in August.
A total of 16 men’s teams will compete in Monaco for the one remaining place for Rio 2016.
The Cheetahs will join Uruguay, Chile, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Russia, Germany, Ireland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Samoa, Morocco and Tunisia.
The winner will join Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand, Great Britain, Argentina, USA, France, Japan, Australia, Kenya and hosts Brazil at the Olympics.
The women Cheetahs will be up against Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Russia, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Kenya, Uganda, Samoa, Cook Islands, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong and China.
The winners will join New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Colombia, USA, France, Fiji, Japan and hosts Brazil.
“We will surely participate in the final qualifiers. We are planning on organising friendly matches and that way I believe we will be ready to stand against our opponents. We may be underdogs, but that is only on paper; on the field we will give it our best shot,” said Chivandire.
Zimbabwe hosts the next edition of the Tier 2 Under-20 World Cup at Harare Sports Club from April 19 to May 1.
The second tier competition will feature eight teams, including Uruguay, Namibia, Samoa, and four regional qualifiers yet to be determined, one each from Europe, North America, Oceania and Asia.
Victory in the tournament brings promotion to the Tier 1 Championship level the following year.
Online Reporter