Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S 2027 Netball World Cup dream now rests largely on the Zambezi Eagles project with the development side’s products expected to step up and fill in the gaps on the Gems outfit for the qualifiers.
The African qualifiers run between September 18 and 26 at Kasarani Indoor Arena in Nairobi, Kenya, and Zimbabwe will compete for one of Africa’s two available World Cup spots.
Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, England, South Africa and Uganda have already qualified automatically as the top six nations on the World Netball Rankings.
They will be joined by the top two teams from each of the five regional qualifiers taking place globally ahead of the finals in Sydney, Australia, next year.
With at least four seniors unavailable for duty, the Gems head to Nairobi next week leaning heavily on the development project that was designed for “tomorrow” but is needed “today”.
“Some of our players have injuries so they could not join the team and now we are already out of time in such a way that even those who come may not catch up with the rest of the team,” said coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki.
“However, we are not panicking because we had a ready Plan B, we simply promoted some players from the Zambezi Eagles project because that is our main feeder.”
Captain Felisitus Kwangwa, Tanaka Makusha, Nikkie Mundeya are all carrying injuries.
Shooters Sharon Bwanali and Thandazile Ndhlovu and midcourt players Claris Kwaramba are also out.
Bwanali and Kwaramba have been ruled out entirely as they are on maternity leave while Ndhlovu is on Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services training after recently joining the service as an officer.
Resultantly, coach Mutsauki, who is under the supervision of former Ugandan national team coach Fred Mugerwa who came in as a Technical Director, had to fast-track the Zambezi Eagles pipeline.
The cavalry comes in the shooting circle where Prisca Mpofu, Beyonce Ndaradzi and Lisa Tanyanyiwa, all Zambezi Eagles and Chapungu Queens products are in line for senior debuts.
They have big shoes to fill.
The trio will have to match the standards set by Bwanali, who has been a Gems mainstay since the historic 2019 World Cup debut in Liverpool while Ndhlovu exploded after 2023 and was Player of the Tournament at last year’s Africa Netball Cup in Malawi.
Tanyanyiwa arrives with form, fresh from the Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Association Club Championships for an impressive 94 percent shooting rate, after sinking 296 goals from 314 attempts.
Ndaradzi has climbed through Young Gems to Zambezi Eagles while Mpofu has been knocking on the door at Chapungu.
Defence and midcourt also get youthful fresh legs from Lubelihle Khumalo of Airforce, Nyasha Chadoka from Makate Highflyers, Perisinev Tabvooruno of Santa Queens, and Beaular Daure of ZDF Queens.
Mutsauki says the philosophy is identical across Young Gems, Zambezi Eagles and the seniors.
“The style of play has always been the same.
“It’s just about maturity and having the mentality for senior level. They train together all the time, so fitting in should not be a problem.”
The last weeks in camp have focused on fitness and now they shift to combinations. Mutsauki is confident that ZINA’s deliberate feeder strategy is paying off the Gems’ recent rise from 13th to 11 on the World Netball Rankings.
“We started the project with a third successive World Cup qualification in mind, and the time to test the project is now and we are hoping for the best,” he said.
“Most of the time the two teams trained together so fitting into the senior side was not expected to produce any challenges.”
