Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Zimbabwe senior netball team will be hoping to rewrite their international record when they get down to Celtic Cup business, this evening at Glasgow, Scotland.
The Gems are scheduled to face Wales.
However, after falling 39-66 and 44-50 to the same opponent on their Welsh Tour in Cardiff earlier in the week, today they face a familiar foe in Scotland.
The two Cardiff games served as preparatory fixtures for the much anticipated Celtic Cup which also features hosts Scotland, Northern Ireland, Uganda and Namibia.
Despite the unpleasant score lines, head coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki was satisfied with his side, for staging a competitive fight amid some travel chaos.
“We had to play with an incomplete team after travelling in batches due to visa issues,” he said.
“Our mid court players had to stay behind in Zimbabwe awaiting their visas so we were forced to make do with what we had on the list of the few ones who came out first.”
Due to delays in the processing of the team’s visas for the trip, the team had to travel in three batches.
The first batch had 10 members (six players) while the second group had other players excluding Nicole Muzanenhamo, Thandekile Mahlangu and Prudence Sibanda.
The trio finally joined the rest of the team in Scotland on Tuesday evening, having missed the Wales games.
“Everyone is now in the UK and ready for the tournament,” said Zimbabwe Netball Association spokesperson Maimba Mapuranga.
“The rest of the Gems moved from Wales to Glasgow Scotland on Monday and they have been training, preparing for the tournament.
“The three last players to join the team were Muzanenhamo, Mahlangu and Sibanda and their presence is key in boosting our midcourt where we had challenges in the two games in Wales.”
While the visas were reportedly processed in October, for a tournament that was in ZINA plans from the start of the year, they could have acted earlier for more organised travel arrangements.
This raises concerns on ZINA’s plethora of blunders that have persisted behind closed doors for years, often resulting in them getting down to travel preparations in the final hour.
In some cases, the netball mother body even make last minute arrangements for accommodation.
Resultantly, instead of booking the accommodation and making payments in advance, benefactors have to wire the funds directly into their account for them to pay upon arrival.
However, Mapuranga said their focus is now on grinding results as the team aims to improve on their World Netball Rankings.
“These are ranking games and our major aim right now is to collect points and be able to improve our position in the global rankings,” he said.
“The Gems are currently ranked 13th, and a win in these games especially against higher ranked nations will boost our rankings…we also need to avoid defeat at the hands of lower ranked nations.”
Mapuranga added that after the Cup tournament, the Gems will make their way to the African Championships in Malawi were they will battle it out for regional prestige.
However, their ultimate goal is to qualify for the 2027 Netball World Cup.
“The Celtic Cup is very important in our Campaign to qualify for The 2027 Netball World Cup in Australia,” he said.
“Our strategy to qualify has been deliberate and intentional starting with the home friendly games against Kenya and Malawi a few months ago.
“Every game we played was meant to give our technical team led by Director John Banda an opportunity to assess different players, combinations and new talents that we can eventually choose from.
“So far everything is on course and we are almost confident that we will make it to the global stage once again.”
