Andrew
Veronica Gwaze in Pretoria, South Africa
AFTER back-to-back victories, the Zimbabwe Gems will be eyeing a place in the semi-finals of the 2023 Netball World Cup Qualifiers, when they face Tanzania on Wednesday.
The match starts at 2pm.
Together with hosts South Africa, the Gems are unbeaten after two rounds of fixtures at the qualifiers.
They defeated Botswana (49-41) and Namibia (45-41) on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
A victory against Tanzania will book their place in the semi-finals, with a game to spare.
However, rather than get ahead of themselves, Gems’ coach, Ropafadzo Mutsauki, has opted for a more pragmatic approach.
“It had been a while since we last saw them (Tanzania) play, and we had a quick look at them during their group games,” said Mutsauki.
“The goal was to watch them and then go back to the drawing board and try to come up with a game plan. At this level of competition, it is all about tactics.”
The Gems go into the match high on confidence, with the gaffer optimistic of a good result.
“The two wins have a major boost on the girls’ confidence, and you can tell that they are ready for the match.
“During the Namibia win, I saw some amazing resilience in them and I don’t think anything can stop us,” he said.
“The other thing is that the youngsters we have on the team blended so well with the seniors. We are ready.”
Fixtures
Namibia v Botswana (12pm)
Tanzania v Zimbabwe (2pm)
Kenya v Eswatini (4pm)
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter