Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo
Sports Reporter
MANY would remember the name Denford Mutangamira, who was part of the Sables Class of 2014 that narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2015 Rugby World Cup after finishing second to Namibia and going on to lose against Russia in a play-off.
More than 10 years later, Mutangamira has returned to the Sables fold, this time on the other side of the middle of the park as part of Pieter Benade’s technical team. The legendary Mutangamira was roped in by the Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) as a scrum specialist earlier last week.
He is set to bring in a wealth of experience to the Sables team as they prepare for the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup which serves as the direct qualifier to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. The tournament is scheduled for Uganda in July.
The move to bring in the 40-year-old has been a welcome development as it signals ZRU’s aggressive technical rebuild. Mutangamira is set to bring his scrum expertise to enhance the Sables’ forward pack and will be working alongside forwards and scrum coach Joel Carew and his assistant, Kevin Nqindi.
Speaking to Zimpapers Sports Hub, Mutangamira said it is an honour, once again, to represent Zimbabwe. Mutangamira said from his experience, preparations have to be top notch and things have to be done differently, smoothing which Benade is already doing.
“It’s always an honour to serve your country in any capacity. I am glad that I have been roped in to the Sables to help out in that area. Well, things have to be done differently and Benade is already doing that which is great. It’s about paying attention to detail and being strategic, our preparation has to be notch,” he said.
Mutangamira added that he is pleased with the way the Sables’ front row fared last year but believes that things have to be taken a gear up this year and work harder on physical, technical and mental strength.
The draw for the Africa Cup was done last month with the Sables placed in a pool with some of Africa’s top teams — Kenya, Morocco and Uganda. Zimbabwe enters the tournament — scheduled for July 20 to 28 — as defending champions, starting their campaign at the quarter-final stage against Morocco, the winners of the Africa Cup Repechage.
The second quarter-final in Pool A will feature a blockbuster derby between Kenya and Uganda. The winners of these two matches will meet in the first semi-final.
In the other pool, Namibia will kick off their campaign against Senegal, while Algeria and Ivory Coast will square off in the other last eight match.
As the defending champions, Zimbabwe are the top seed for this year’s tournament, having won the Africa Cup for the first time in 12 years.
Mutangamira said the Sables players will have to be mentally sharp, not back down and fight on.
With the Sables likely to face Namibia in the late stages of the tournament, Mutangamira said they have what it takes to match the Welwitschias upfront as the team has been working hard.
“High pressure cooker situations are real. Like I said, our mental strength will be key, we should never back down to anyone. We keep fighting till the tank is empty. This is one area the coach has spoken about so its work in progress, we will get there.
“Well, I believe we can match them (Namibia) upfront. The boys have been working so hard. It’s all about being confident and applying ourselves. It’s not going to be easy but we will prepare to our best ability,” said Mutangamira.
