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The Sevens side — the Cheetahs — left the country on Sunday for the Port Elizabeth leg of the International Rugby Board Sevens Series while the Sables flew to Dubai last night for the Emirates invitational XVs tournament.
Coach Gilbert “Gidza” Nyamutsamba’s Cheetahs have been drawn in Pool D where they are set to take on the United States, Canada and newly promoted core member Portugal.
The Europeans finished on a recommendable note in Dubai last week after they reached the quarter final of the second leg of the IRB Sevens Series but the United States and Canada have been tricky customers for the Cheetahs over the years.
Traditionally, the Cheetahs would take part in the Dubai and South Africa legs of the world series, but the fact that they were not good enough to make it as a core member saw them being withdrawn from the Dubai leg.
But it is in Port Elizabeth that the Cheetahs are hoping to start their campaign for glory as they aim to become a core member next year during the back-to-back tournaments in Scotland and England. The Cheetahs have roped in France-based professional Garth Ziegler and young Tapiwa “Homley” Tsomondo who will be earning their first tournament caps in national colours on Saturday.
The other 10 players will bring in stability and experience in the form of captain Jacques Leitao, Fortune Chipendo, Tangai Nemadire, Gardner Nechironga Justin Coles and Njabulo Ndlovu among others.
Zimbabwe will open their campaign with a date against Canada before taking on Portugal and will round up their group stage campaign with a game against the United States.
The last time Zimbabwe featured in an international tournament was when they won the Africa Cup a few months ago, en route to earning a World Cup ticket for next year’s edition of the Sevens games.
Canada and Portugal have recently shown good form after they reached the Cup quarter-finals in Dubai last week and this is a sign of how quickly the two teams have adapted to the demands of core membership.
The last time Zimbabwe played Portugal was in Hong Kong eight months ago in the core membership qualifiers and it was then that the Cheetahs beat Canada 24-21, and were painfully denied by Portugal in the dying seconds.
Ironically they have been drawn to meet the same sides again and will be on a revenge mission.
Zimbabwe have never beaten Portugal in five attempts and lost to them 24-12 in the PE pools last year.
The United States also beat 26-0 Zimbabwe at the same venue last year.
While the Cheetahs try to salvage some pride in South Africa, the Sables will on the same day go into battle against Hong Kong in the Emirates Dubai invitational tournament.
A few weeks after falling to Spain and Namibia in the Namibia invitational, the Sables have high hopes that they will be able to turn on the heat when they take on Hong Kong, Belgium and the United Arab Emitates.
The games will have an impact on the IRB world rankings and the Sables would like to avoid a case similar to the Namibia debacle where they lost points on the rankings and came out of the tournament without a win.
If the Sables and Cheetahs do well in these their last tournaments of the year, Saturday could indeed be yet another great day for the Zimbabwe rugby fraternity.
Teams
Sables: Tapiwa Mangezi, Pieter Joubert, Nic Winwood, Keith Murray, Simba Musarurwa, Brian Makamure, Costa Dinha (captain), Jan Ferreira, Sanele Sibanda, Biselele Tshamala, Shingirai Mpofu, Tonderai Chigumbura, Takunda Chifokoyo, Scotty Jones, Graham Kaulback, Lenience Tambwera, Tichafara Makwanya, Tommy Nelson, Gavin Nyawata, Simbarashe Chirimuuta, Josh Rowe, Kudakwashe Chiwanza, Shane Makombe, Steven Hunduza, John McWade.
Cheetahs: Jacques Leitao (captain), Fortune Chipendo, Njabulo Ndlovu, Justin Coles, Lucky Sithole, Tangai Nemadire, Kilvan Magunje, Daniel Hondo, Gardner Nechironga, Wes Mbanje, Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, Garth Ziegler.
Online Reporter