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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE national sevens rugby team manager Jacquie Chironga-Jani has described last weekend’s Africa Women’s Sevens in Tunisia as a lovely experience, despite the Lady Cheetahs finding the going tough at the tournament which served as a 2020 Olympics qualifier.
Chironga-Jani said they headed off to Tunisia with an aim to push for a place in the top four but things did not go as planned with injury to three players, who included playmaker Constance Ngwende who broke her leg against South Africa. Zimbabwe eventually finished in eighth spot.
“The Olympic Qualifiers was a lovely experience for the girls and reality for a lot of debutants. We went to Tunisia to compete and push for a top four finish. However, we were not entirely in control of the events that followed. Injuries to our playmaker and another two players derailed the train. We now had to work on mental toughness which was seriously tested,” Chironga-Jani said.
She feels that women’s rugby has advanced with other countries having improved in different facets of their game, therefore it was a learning curve for the Lady Cheetahs.
“Women’s rugby has evolved and a lot of the teams have stepped up various aspects. Lots of lessons were learnt as a team, experience gained and exposure at a high level. What’s important is to go back to the drawing board and do a self evaluation and start mapping the way forward. The big task is to improve on our rankings in Africa and become more competitive as a rugby nation,’’ she said.
Chironga-Jani paid tribute to those who made the trip possible for the Lady Cheetahs, with Minerva being the main sponsors.
Bongani Ndlovu