adminPaul Munyuki Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE are among teams that are set to benefit when the International Rugby Board introduces a new Sevens World Series to cater for teams that do not play in the Sevens World Series next year.
The IRB is planning on launching a second tier tournament that will cater for teams that would have been demoted from the main World Series and other teams that fail to make it for the series over the years. Over the last two seasons, Zimbabwe have failed to make it as a core team, losing to Portugal last year in the semi-finals before falling again early this year but if all goes according to plan, the Cheetahs will have a chance to expose most of their players starting late next year. At the moment, Zimbabwe play in the South African leg of the World Series which is the third leg of the tournament usually played early December, travel to Hong Kong where the first leg of the promotional qualifiers are played and if they make it, they will go to England for the final qualifiers.
Yesterday, the Zimbabwe Rugby Union professed ignorance over plans by the IRB to have a new tournament for second tier teams, but The Herald has it on good authority that the tournament will come to life at the end of next year.
In Africa, only South Africa and Kenya are core teams and do not play qualifiers for the World Cup and Olympics as well as they have automatic qualification by virtue of them being core teams on the world circuit.
Tunisia and Zimbabwe are the only teams that are usually invited to the World Series tournaments and if the second tier comes to life, it would see them being joined by the likes of Hong Kong, Russia, Georgia, Japan, Philippines and Uruguay among others. Most of these teams find it difficult to make it for the World series as they do not play a lot of games in a year and the second tier tournament is likely to enhance competition for the teams to make it for the more prestigious series.
Online Reporter