Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
LADY Cheetahs head coach Dereck Chiwara has heaped praises on his charges after they were crowned champions of the Rugby Africa sevens pre-qualifying competition held in Maseru, Lesotho, at the weekend.
By virtue of being champions the senior women’s sevens team will now begin preparations for the Rugby Africa sevens cup to be hosted in Kampala later in the year.
The Lady Cheetahs finished the qualifiers unbeaten. The team scored a total of 160 points and did not concede a single point in all their games.
In their opening match on Saturday Zimbabwe beat the hosts Lesotho 62-0 before moving on to beat Namibia and Botswana by a similar scoreline of 39-0. They wrapped up their matches with a 22-0 victory over Mauritius.
“The tournament went on very well. We had set goals and I am glad the ladies worked hard and stayed focused throughout. Credit to the players for not conceding throughout the tournament. That will always be something worth treasuring.
“The last game against Mauritius tested us in many ways. I am glad the team worked hard to keep all teams at bay.
“The journey has just got exciting, we are joining the top ranked teams in Africa. We aim to make a positive mark on the African continent, we just need to identify local and international tournaments that could be valuable in our build up to the qualifiers. We will be setting realistic goals and push on taking part in as many tournaments,” said Chiwara.
The new tournament is a new initiative by Rugby Africa to ensure all member states are given an equal opportunity to qualify for the Africa Cup Sevens.
In fact, the Africa Cup Sevens tournament will this year act as qualifiers for the Commonwealth Games, and, more importantly, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, which will take place for the first time on African soil (South Africa).
While the men’s team have already qualified for the Africa Cup by virtue of their ranking, the Lady Cheetahs will have to go through the pre-qualifying rounds.
Four regional tournaments West, East, North and South have since been established, with only the winner of each tournament going through to the next stage.
Results
Zimbabwe 62- 0 Lesotho
Zimbabwe 39-0 Botswana
Zimbabwe 39- 0 Namibia
Zimbabwe 20- 0 Mauritius
-@innocentskizoe
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