dyton mupawaenda
Deputy Sports Editor
BOTH the Zimbabwe women’s sevens rugby team and their coach Cyprian Mandenge find themselves in all too familiar waters.
The Lady Cheetahs had about two weeks to get to know each other before they had their first assignment, the preliminary rounds of the 2024 Paris Olympic Qualifiers that began yesterday and end today.
A top-three finish at the 10-team tournament will earn Mandenge and his girls a ticket to the final round of the qualifiers, scheduled for Tunisia later this year. Mandenge’s appointment as the Lady Cheetahs’ coach raised a lot of eyebrows given his rich history with the 15s version of the game.
However, speaking on the eve of the tournament, Mandenge did not mince his words in quelling questions that may have arisen from his appointment.
“I have been involved in the sevens game before, as much as I am predominately known for the 15s game,” he said. “If you look at people like Chitokwindo (Tafadzwa) and Shayne Makombe, I took those guys into sevens’ waters when they were still in school. We used to go to the Kenya Safari Sevens as Zim Schools, and I coached that team with guys like Sebastian Garikai and Malvin Chirume as managers.
“Besides, rugby is rugby and it is just a little detail that you need to change with the sevens and 15s games,” he said. Mandenge, however, said the biggest deciding factor behind his decision to take up the job had to do with rugby development.
The seasoned gaffer views himself as a rugby person and he will always jump at any offer to lend his hand for the development of the game in the country.
The Old Hararians club coach does not even seem moved by the task that lies ahead at the Zambia tournament, where he was given just two weeks to acquaint with his players and also prepare them.
He can count on the experience of the quartet of Delight Mukomondo, Robyn Mhembere, Chiwoniso Mabika and Rumbidzai Chigumbu, who were all part of the regional Africa Cup qualifiers last year and came back undefeated and without conceding a try.
The four players were part of the Lady Cheetahs team that travelled to Lesotho, under almost identical circumstances, and helped put the women’s sevens game on the map with an almost flawless performance in Maseru, Lesotho. For his part, Mandenge is already looking beyond these Olympic qualifiers, as he hopes to leave a lasting mark on the women’s game.
“Yes, there are challenges, regarding where we are at the moment, as the game is not being played much in the country,” said Mandenge.
“The hope is that we will help spread the game, as much as we can, and help grow the sevens game in the country.
“We need a programme to make sure that sevens rugby, both men and women, is played from school right up to club level.
“The hope is that we will be able to go out to the far corners of the country, identify athletes and then work with them to become sevens players.”
Mandenge is confident of sealing one of the three available slots to the next round of qualifiers, after which he has already started coming up with a plan and programme for the next stage. All he has asked for are the resources to make his vision come to fruition.
Online Reporter