adminThe Sables select was under the guidance of crack South African strength and conditioning coach Nico de Villiers and team manager Losson Mtongwiza said they were happy with the training.
“As you know we want to qualify for the International Rugby Board (IRB) World Cup in England in 2015 and we are starting now to make preparations hence we are engaging the services of specialists to work on our locally based players.
“We were missing Gardner Nechironga and Scolly Jones due to work commitments but we will have them this Saturday when we conduct another similar training session. After the players were tested we gave them training programmes to follow in the coming eight weeks after which we will test them on progress with the South African coach,” Mtongwiza said.
De Villiers was assisted by Sables coach Brendan Dawson and his assistant Cyprian Mandenga.
Mtongwiza said it was crucial for players to be fit if they were to achieve their 2015 dream.
He said the team was also training with the Dubai Sevens Invitational tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in mind. The tournament will take place from 7 to 15 December and will feature six nations.
Zimbabwe has been drawn into Pool A which has Belgium and Hong Kong which are ranked higher than the Sables while Pool B will have the hosts UAE, Mexico and Papua New Guinea.
The Sables manager said they were planning to play friendly matches with Botswana and Zambia late in September and early in October as they prepare for the games but the two countries were yet to confirm the games.
Recently crowned African Cup champions, the Sables need to play tough opposition in their quest to qualify for the IRB World Cup in England.
They can gain automatic entry if they win the African Cup group A1 in 2014 but that means playing many tough matches.
The team that attended the training
Prayer Chitenduru, Devon Esbach, Tinashe David Bopoto, Costa Dinha, Jan Ferreira, Fortune Chipendo, Jacques Leitao, Takunda Julius Chikofoya, Simba Mandioma, Jakov Jakov, Pieter Jourbert, Jonathan Goosen, Samson Makuku Nyama, Norman Mukondiwa, Richard Van Breda, Takudzwa Mandiwanza, Danny Robertson, Gavin Nyawata, Raymond De Jong, Tichafa Makwanya, Cleopas Makotose, Tangai Nemandire, Daniel Hondo, Lloyd Machanjaira, Charles Tafadzwa Jiji, Steven Hunduza, Shane Makombe.
Online Reporter