‘Sables can only get better’

Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) believes the Sables can only get better despite the agony of failing to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup after losing to Namibia on Wednesday night.

The Sables lost 19-34 to the Namibians at the Stade Maurice David, Aix-en-Provence, in France in the semi-final of the Rugby Africa Cup.

The loss ended Zimbabwe’s hopes of qualifying for the Rugby World Cup, an event they last qualified for in 1991.

Although the Sables lost, they put up a gallant performance and only the Namibians’ experience and consistency ended their dream.

“There is a lot of potential in the team.

We are coming out of Covid-19 where we did not play proper rugby for two years and we are still trying to find our feet as a country.

Covid-19 increased the gap between us and some of these teams, but that gap is being reduced when you look at the results themselves and the performances of the team,” said Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) vice-president Martin Shone.

“The most important thing now is to ensure that we do not let this momentum die.

This is where we start building from.

But that can only be possible with proper financial backing, which can make us constant participants in competitions like the Currie Cup where we get to play with the best in the world and at the same time reach their level,” said Shone.

“Also, with a sound financial standing, the national league may get up and running and present local players a chance to play more rugby.

As it stands, we are talking to some corporates with the hope that they can help us get the national league running because our players need game time.”

Prior to their defeat to Namibia, Zimbabwe had only managed three wins from 33 matches against the Namibians, with their last win coming in July 2001 when they defeated them 27-26 at Hartsfield Rugby Ground in an African CAR Championship fixture.

Namibia will now play Kenya in the Rugby Africa Cup final at Stade Maurice David on Sunday, while the Sables will look to finish stronger when they clash with Algeria in a third-place play-off in an early kick off at the same venue.

“It is not over yet, we have one last game to play and it will be important for us to finish the competition on a high,” said Shone.

The winner between Namibia and Kenya will secure automatic qualification to next year’s Rugby World Cup in France, while the loser still has an opportunity to make it to the global showpiece via the play-offs.

– @innocentskizoe