Online Reporter
IN three days time and far away from their favourite hunting ground at the Machinery Exchange at Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe’s Sables will be back in the rugby trenches for yet another high-stakes assignment which will burst into life in Kampala, Uganda.
Zimbabwe will be out to defend their Rugby Africa Cup title when they battle against seven other teams for the 2025 edition.
On Tuesday at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala, the Sables and their youthful coach Piet Benade, will embark on a journey that could rewrite the nation’s sporting history.
It is a journey in which they could also etch their names in the annals of Zimbabwe’s Rugby Union’s (ZRU) history books in particular and the nation’s history records at large.
As reported elsewhere in this edition, the Sables are upbeat about their chances at the Rugby Africa Cup, but they need the whole of Zimbabwe’s support, financially, materially, spiritually and in all forms and manner for them to conquer and reach the Promised Land.
They will begin their campaign with an assignment against North African powerhouses Morocco in the opening round of the Rugby Africa Cup, a straight knockout tournament which this year has assumed greater significance.
This is because unlike last year when Benade and his men won the competition this year’s tourney is doubling as the qualifier for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Surely the stakes could not be higher. Being at the World Cup or at the Olympics is the ultimate goal for coaches and athletes.
Zimbabwe last graced rugby’s grandest stage in 1991, when the World Cup was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France. That is more than three decades ago. In fact, to put matters into perspective, Benade was only a nine-year-old boy when the Sables class that included the late great Richard Tsimba touched the stars and became the last group to represent Zimbabwe at the World Cup.
Since then, as a country, we have flirted with qualification, shown flashes of brilliance in some campaigns, but fallen just short when it mattered most.
There have been eight failed World Cup qualification campaigns since the Sables’ last appearance at the tournament in 1991, with Namibia denying them repeatedly and the emergence of other teams on the continent such as Kenya and Uganda has made qualifying all the more difficult. But after their 2024 exploits, the Sables have given everyone reason to believe.
And despite those past failures, this time, however, feels different – and it must be different.
The path to qualification is brutal. Beat Morocco and the Sables must then overcome either Uganda or Kenya in the semi-final.
Only one team will emerge from this eight-nation tournament with a World Cup ticket in hand.
Prowling on the other side of the draw will be perennial powerhouses Namibia, a side Zimbabwe may only encounter if both teams reach the final.
Yes, the Sables are the defending champions, but history alone will not win matches.
The Sables mission in Uganda is not merely a quest for silverware.
A spot at the World Cup carries with it immense significance and will be a massive game-changer for Zimbabwean rugby which stands to benefit from the Sables’ qualification.
For the players, it is a life-altering opportunity: global exposure, potential contracts with top-tier clubs and the pride of representing Zimbabwe on the biggest stage in world rugby.
For the ZRU, qualification promises a much-needed financial windfall – through sponsorships, grants, capacity building, technical support and international partnerships.
There will also be a chunk of the television rights revenue accruing to the union, which could be used for rugby development across the country’s provinces and schools.
When you are World Cup class, it opens doors to host stronger Test nations, helping to raise the profile and competitiveness of Zimbabwean rugby and subsequently see the game contributing further to the nation’s sport tourism coffers.
More importantly, it gives a nation – often battered by headlines of gloom – a reason to believe. A reason to unite. Rugby has shone a bright light on Zimbabwe in the last year.
Besides winning the Rugby Africa Cup, the Sables also won Team of the Year at the Annual National Sports Awards, showing what they mean to the nation.
But belief must be matched by preparation. To succeed in Uganda, and possibly later in Australia, we must invest in this team now. The players need top-level conditioning, world-class technical support, proper travel logistics, and mental resilience training.
ZRU have been blessed to have all-weather partners like Nedbank, who have committed to them and have been smoothening their preparations. Adequate preparation is not a luxury – it is the difference between heartbreak and history.
Let us not look back in regret, wondering what could have been.
Let us instead rally around the Sables and make 2027 the year Zimbabwe busts their absence from the Rugby World Cup jamboree.
After all it has been a long and arduous. Yet it is only through the World Cup platform that our dreams of seeing our stars such as skipper Hilton Mudariki, Ian Prior, Liam Larkan, Edward Sigauke, Cleopas Kundiona, Mathew McNab, Lenience Tambwera and Kudzai Mashawi rubbing shoulders with some of the globe’s best teams who include Argentina Pumas, South Africa’s Springboks, the All Blacks of New Zealand, England and the hosts Australia.
