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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE national sevens rugby team coach, Gilbert Nyamutsamba has given insight into the problems which bedevilled the Cheetahs on their way to being crowned Africa Cup champions with a 17-5 triumph over Kenya in the final in Tunisia last Sunday.
Nyamutsamba revealed that in addition to not having enough time in camp prior to their departure for Tunisia, the Cheetahs also went with one player short. Instead of having 12 players for the tournament, the Cheetahs only had 11, which saw them having four substitutes when they should have had five.
Due to logistical challenges, Spain-based Ngoni Chibuwe was meant to link up with the team along the way but flight issues saw him not being able to make it to Tunisia.
“Going into the tournament, we had a lot of challenges, lack of preparation, individual challenges and challenges in our beloved nation, and to make matters worse we then travelled with one man short,’’ Nyamutsamba said.
According to Nyamutsamba, encouraging the players was not such a tough task as they turned the hardships into something constructive.
“As a team we agreed that all we can do is turn the bad fortunes into a positive and we drew inspiration from all the challenges and nothing was going to get us down, so motivating players was easy. I simply asked them to perform at their best and demand the respect that they so deserve, and the best way to do that was to give all they have on the field and results will follow,’’ he said.
For Nyamutsamba, to be crowned champions at the tournament for the first time since 2012 was a wonderful achievement for the Cheetahs since he knew how much determination had been put in by the players.
“Winning the cup was a dream come true and I feel very happy especially for the players, knowing how much effort, commitment and sacrifices that these players go through.”
With their conquest in Tunisia, the Cheetahs qualified for three big tournaments. First up for Zimbabwe is the Dubai leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series at the end of November and the following week, they head for Cape Town for yet another dance with the best in the world.
In April next year, Zimbabwe have an opportunity to become a core member of the HSBC Sevens World Series when they participate in the Hong Kong Qualifier. Next year will also see Zimbabwe compete in the Africa Olympic qualifiers where Kenya and Uganda pose the biggest threat.
Nyamutsamba feels that they have to put in serious preparations for the three tournaments if they are to make an impression against some of the best sevens rugby playing nations in the world. His plan is to keep the players together so that they can go to the gym, get allowances, proper nutrition and enough game time.
“We cannot afford to attend a world series tournament without having put in adequate preparations, we are a team coming from a lower division and wanting to compete amongst the words best, in a way because of that we need much more training time that the big teams,’’ he said.
While Kenya did have some of their best players taking part in the Africa Cup, Nyamutsamba is not getting carried away by thinking that they have closed the gap between them and East Africans as he believes that Zimbabwe are still behind.
The Africa Cup was secured without skipper Hilton Mudariki, Riaan O’Neill, Boyd Rouse, Shayne Makombe and Tapiwa Tsomondo, which goes to show that there is depth for the team. Stephan Hunduza led the Cheetahs in Mudariki’s absence.
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