Andrew
Online Reporter
Could adequate preparations be the tonic that finally sees the Zimbabwe Sables vanquish their old foes Namibia?
Well, that seems to be the question that has been on the minds of the local rugby community ever since Zimbabwe began their journey to the Rugby Africa Cup in November last year.
The two rivals will clash on Wednesday night in the semi-final of the eight-team tournament, with the winner meeting victors of the game between Algeria and Kenya.
The Zimbabwe-Namibia rivalry is one that has been building up for years and dates back to the mid-90s when the Welwitschias began their ascension as a top rugby nation.
The two teams have met 33 times, with Namibia clearly having the upper hand with 30 victories.
Zimbabwe has only won three of the encounters.
This translates to a 90,9 percent win rate for the Namibians, which has seen them scoring an astonishing 1 239 points and conceding only 675.
The Welwitschias are also responsible for inflicting the heaviest defeat on the Sables in the country’s rugby history, a 80-6 mauling in Windhoek in 2015.
Namibia have pipped Zimbabwe to every World Cup since the 1991 edition.
In total, Namibia has been to six consecutive World Cups (1999-2019), as compared to Zimbabwe’s two appearances in 1987 (Australia and New Zealand) and 1991 (UK, Ireland and France) editions.
However, that will count for nothing when the two teams walk onto the park in Aix-en-Provence (France) for their semi-final clash.
The match kicks off at 9pm.
Namibian captain Torsten van Jaarsveld was the hero for Namibia as he scored a hat-trick of tries in their 71-5 quarter-final win over Burkina Faso last week.
The opening match pitted the highest-ranked team in the competition against the lowest-ranked, and the 24th ranked Namibians, bidding to reach a seventh successive Rugby World Cup, made light work of their 91st-ranked opponents.
Zimbabwe, who jumped seven places to 27th in last week’s rankings, ran in five tries in their 38-11 victory over Ivory Coast.
While not the most clinical of victories, it got the job done and now the Sables find themselves two wins shy of a first World Cup appearance since 1991.
Not only that, but they also find themselves coming up against an all-too familiar foe and against the backdrop of their best preparations in recent history.
The Sables’ preparation included a 12-week training camp in Harare last year, regular friendly matches that included Zambia and the Netherlands, the Stellenbosch series and most recently the Currie Cup First Division.
While there have been other, perhaps more talented Sables teams, this is arguably one of the most prepared going into battle against the Welwitschias.
The winner of the Zimbabwe-Namibia game will qualify for Sunday’s final against either Kenya or Algeria.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter