Tinashe Kusema Zimpapers Sports Hub
A GRADE 2 calf tear, a nightmarish rehab and a victorious return to the majestic National Sports Stadium.
It has been a hectic couple of months for Sables skipper Hilton Mudariki.
The Zimbabwe senior rugby team left for the United Kingdom during the early hours of yesterday with a little skip in their step as they look to link up with their international stars ahead of this month’s Nations Cup return.
The Sables will be looking to bouncing back from their disappointing start to the tournament, a product of World Rugby and created to give the 2027 Rugby World Cup participants some competitive game time.
Zimbabwe sit at the bottom of their group after defeats to Tonga (36-26), the United States (31-15) and Canada (23-19) during the July window.
Now, they will face a new-look Samoa side and Uruguay on November 7 and 14 before making their way to France where they will face Chile at the Stade Chanzy, Angoulême.
For now, the moment belongs to Sables skipper Mudariki, who has had quite a gruelling couple of months of rehab and only made his return during Zimbabwe’s 36-33 win over regional foes Namibia.
It was a comeback over two decades in the making as the Sables played their first game at the iconic stadium since 1998.
Unlike the 49-11 loss against Wales, this time the Sables managed to get the “W” and did so in front of a passionate crowd of 16 210.
“Yeah, it was good to be back with the team,” said Mudariki. “It’s always difficult to go through rehab by yourself.
“Seeing the guys training and not being able to be part of that, I think it makes you feel and realise how much you miss it. So, to come back and to be around the guys was awesome.
“I’m really happy to be back and really happy to have got the result last weekend.”
Of course, Mudariki was coming off a four-month spell on the sidelines after incurring the Grade 2
tear on his calf during Zimbabwe’s loss to the United States in the Nations Cup.
The injury ruined his experience during the debut window of the World Rugby tournament and it
was feared that he would be out for the rest of the year.
However, the Zimbabwe scrumhalf had other plans as he went to work, initially targeting the
proposed Germany and Chile October friendlies that were supposed to be held early last month.
The two matches failed to materialise due to a combination of timing and a funding issue, giving the
skipper more time.
“The experience (rehab) was tough, I tell you,” said Mudariki. “There were obviously some good
days and some bad days.
“There were days where we felt we made progress and then some days where it felt like we had
taken a few steps back.
“However, what actually saved me was some fixtures not being confirmed or being cancelled, which
allowed me a little bit more time.
“I was fortunate to have a great team helping me and a sound support structure.”
Mudariki credits his support structure for helping him through the mental toll.
He said there were some tough moments where he thought that he might not be back at his best.
His family and friends and Sables coach Pieter Benade checked on him frequently, which went a
long way to help.
This allowed him to focus on ticking the rehab boxes like healing, fitness and getting back to light
and then heavy training.
Mudariki then put the icing on the cake by scoring on his grand return, a moment he celebrated by
pointing to the heavens to signify his gratefulness.
The fact that Mudariki and Zimbabwe managed to vanquish an old foe like Namibia was an added
bonus.
On the try itself, he said: “I think, having seen how some of our players play, obviously, the more
you play with them, the more you know their mannerisms and the things that they do.
“Brandon has been running those inside balls for a few games now. And so, the biggest thing for me
coming into this game was to make sure that I get to as many rucks as possible.
“It was just about anticipating where the ball is going to go. And I knew that Brandon was coming in
that line.
“If you see that clip again, I actually moved out of his way because I knew that he was coming in
there.”
He added: “My role was just to support Brandon and he actually did all the hard work and I was just the beneficiary of the try.
“But it was nice to make that comeback after a while and to score in front of our home fans who
were absolutely amazing.”
For Mudariki, the fans’ celebration was the best part about his try.
“I have never seen many rugby fans like that at all in my life in Zimbabwe,” he said.
“And to see that in an iconic stadium after a very long time definitely gave all my teammates an urge
to want to be better and want to perform for our country.”
With the comeback and great win now in the rearview mirror, the next big challenge is the Nations
Cup.
Zimbabwe kick off their campaign against a new-look Samoa side, one that has been bolstered by
the addition of three former New Zealand players.
The three are Akira Ioane, Josh Ioane and Shaun Stevenson, who all qualify through their Samoan
heritage and completed the three-year stand-down under World Rugby’s eligibility law change.
While their additions have made Samoa even more dangerous, Mudariki is not fretting.
“We respect them,” he said. “They are a big rugby nation and they love their rugby.
“However, for us, we just want to focus on us and improving from our July performances.
Hopefully, the results will take care of themselves.
“We know in this day and age, social media is there and all these things are put out. But for us, if
I’m very honest, we haven’t spoken about them (former All Blacks) at all.
“We didn’t even really speak about Namibia too much before we entered that game as well. The focus was just on us and trying to make sure that we improve from where we were before.”
