Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
AFTER two years of near misses, Sables utility forward Vuyani Dhlomo finally got his breakthrough when travelling with Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom for the 2026 World Rugby Nations Cup.
The Sables are based in the cathedral city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, where they open their campaign against Samoa this Saturday at the DIY Kitchens Stadium.
They will face Uruguay at Trailfinders Sports Ground, Ealing on November 14, before closing against Chile on November 21 at Stade Chanzy in Angouleme, France.
The World Rugby Nations Cup features 12 teams, all of whom have already qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Zimbabwe arrived in the UK searching for a first Nations Cup win after losing all their three July fixtures in the Americas with a 36-26 defeat to Tonga before falling 31-15 to the USA and 23-19 to Canada.
For most of the Sables, this is another key platform help punch their tickets Down Under for the World Cup and also polish their preparations for next year’s global showcase.
However, for Dhlomo, it is the eventual reward for his persistence.
Since 2024, Dhlomo has been the fringe man who got called into camp and did all the preparations with the squad.
Yet he would then watch from home after being dropped from the final squad in all tours.
Precisely, he featured in unofficial matches against Zambia in 2024 and 2025, and Botswana.
For all those appearances, the imposing utility forward proudly donned the Sables jersey only to miss out when it mattered.
“It has not been an easy journey,” he said.
“It has been an emotional yet beneficial one. So I always chose not to view it from a heartbreak point of view… for me it became about the opportunity to be up-close with the country’s best.
“It was a lot of absorption for me, absorbing that data, using it in the local league when I get to play and even when I play Sevens I always tap into those lessons.
“But I admit that I had to put a lot of work into it, getting frustrated, heartbroken even because after putting in so much work I still had to go back to the drawing board and wait for my big moment.”
Dhlomo says he had to change his mindset and exercise patience.
In the process, he stopped chasing selection and started enjoying the game again.
He turned the gruelling camps into a chance to learn from the country’s finest players and those playing for foreign clubs. With each camp, Dhlomo returned to club rugby as an improved player, which eventually created the breakthrough for him.
“I am now realising that for one to eventually make it, there is a process behind it all and you have to keep working even if the opportunity doesn’t come immediately,” he said.
Dhlomo was part of the wider group that helped Zimbabwe with the preparations that eventually delivered qualification for the World Cup, despite not making it to the decisive tournament.
Zimbabwe sealed their return to the World Cup after a 36-year wait on July 19, 2025 after beating Namibia at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda. He still has fond memories of the camp that led up to the qualifying games, and the day Zimbabwe sealed qualification.
“I still feel like I was there in the team, I mean having gone for weeks in preparation you obviously belong,” he said.
“It was a moment of pride, the emotions were too much and distance did not matter… figuratively I was there with them and we shared every emotion.”
Now that opportunity is his, and the Nations Cup is more than just a tour for him.
He is taking it as an audition.
