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THE national women’s Sevens rugby team coach Abigail Kawonza is confident that her team will do well at the regional Olympic qualifiers tournament which is set for Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 to 27 September.
Affectionately known as the Lady Cheetahs, the national women’s Sevens side rugby were drawn in group A where they are expected to clash with Uganda, Namibia, Zambia and the hosts. Kenya, Tunisia, Madagascar, Senegal and Botswana are some of the teams which are set to compete for the 2016 Olympic Games berth.
The top team will automatically qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games, while the runners-up will then have to go through another round in order to secure the coveted place.
By virtue of being the host nation of the Olympics, Brazil were the first team to be granted an automatic qualification ticket.
Kawonza told Sunday News that they have been preparing for the qualifiers from the beginning of the year, adding that they will come back home with a positive result.
“The Lady Cheetahs have been preparing for the Olympic qualifiers since February, training once a week and recruiting from schools and clubs.
“With our team this year we are positive to come home with a good result.
“A lot of strong players are coming in from the schools, the successful continuity of the Lady Cheetahs is certain,” said Kawonza.
In preparation for the event, the Lady Cheetahs played two games against Botswana in July, three against Zambia in August and managed to emerge victorious in all games.
Kawonza also pointed out that the preparation matches came in handy as they helped in plugging the gaps before participating in the qualifiers.
“These games were useful to the technical team as they helped in trimming down the squad, gauge the team’s performance and what we needed to work on before the big tournament,” added Kawonza.
Although the final team will be announced this week, expected to be part of the team is a young duo of Runyararo Sithole from Girls High School in Harare and Rumbi Chigumbu from Dzivarasekwa High School while the regular trio of Charity “Chokey” Muchuchuti, Abigail Gondo and captain Precious Marange is also expected to travel for the qualifiers.
According to Lady Cheetahs coach, the team would have trooped into camp this week with a hope of playing friendly matches against Namibia and some South African clubs.
“In September the plan was to go into an early camp and invite four outside teams like Namibia and a few clubs from South Africa which we saw as much tougher competition, but it’s unfortunate that the finances have not allowed us to pursue this route,” said Kawonza.
The Lady Cheetahs are ranked fourth in the continent behind neighbours South Africa, Kenya and Tunisia.
Pool A
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Uganda
Namibia
Zambia
Pool B
Kenya
Tunisia
Madagascar
Senegal
Botswana
Online Reporter