Sables rise on IRB rankings

position on the International Rugby Board World Rankings since the placement system was introduced in October 2003.
The Sables were the biggest gainers on the IRB World Rankings, thanks to their win over hosts Uganda in the tri-nations tournament at the Kyadondo Rugby Grounds.
According to the latest rankings that were released yesterday, the Sables jumped fives places up to 45 on the World Rankings as St. Vincent and The Grenadines, India, Netherlands, and Tonga all moved one place up.
At the same time Uganda fell to 45 from 41 and Zimbabwe could make it into the top 40 if they register a win against Madagascar who also went down one place from 45th place.
The Sables duo of winger Tangai Nemadire and centre Cleopas Makotose yesterday missed training as the Zimbabwe rugby side prepared for the tie against Madagascar.
Having suffered injuries in their win over Uganda, the two were not able to train.
Nemadire suffered a concussion while Makotose is recovering from a quadriceps injury.
Zimbabwe had to come from an 8-10 half time deficit to score 17 points, as they dominated in the second period, and the Ugandans only replied by a late unconverted try.
Having lost by the same scoreline last year at the same venue, Zimbabwe managed to turn the tables and the win means the Sables have five wins and three defeats against the Cranes from their eight meetings.
This was a welcome win for the Sables, who are taking part in the Africa Cup 1B tournament that will see the winner of this tri-nations tournament gaining promotion to the 1A group.
And a win for the Sables against Madagascar in tomorrow’s big game will allow the Cyprian “Supa” Mandenge coached side to gain promotion to the more prestigious league.
The Sables assistant coach travelled in the shoes of coach Brandon Dawson who withdrew from the trip due to family commitments and the tourists managed to stand up to the challenge.
Makotose was making a return to international rugby having last featured in the Zimbabwe colours at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2009, soon after the World Cup.
The Zimbabwe squad in Uganda has nine players that took on Uganda in the Victoria Cup last year and Nemadire believes it is this experience that helped stabilise the side.
“Those players who played against this (Uganda) side last year helped steady Zimbabwe a lot because they knew how Uganda would approach us.
“The Ugandans gave us a good game it was hard and physical but we are happy we managed to get a win for Zimbabwe and this will be a boost for us in the next game.
“They played the game we were expecting and that worked as an advantage to us because we knew they would come and try to use their forwards.
“And for sure their forwards were tight and they dominated us in that area of the game but we had top find an alternative way of penetrating their defence so that we could win.
“We used our backline that was stronger than theirs, we ran the ball well and that is how we managed to dominate and beat them in the second half,” said the Sports Club winger.
Zimbabwe got their points from tries by Nemadire, Denford Mutamangira, Gardner Nechironga, two of them converted by Tichafara Makwanya who also added a penalty, and a drop goal to put the icing on the Sables cake.
Rains fell just before the game and Nemadire believes this could have contributed to Zimbabwe struggling in the first half as they were not used to the wet conditions.
“The rains just after the warm-up had an effect on our game but we managed to pick ourselves up as Makwanya justified why he was picked with good kicks.
“Even Danny Robertson surely deserved to being picked as the man-of-the-match while Charles Jiji is a brilliant halfback,” said the Cheetahs winger.
Makotose expressed hope he will be back for their final game against Madagascar tomorrow while Nemadire might not play against the Indian Ocean islanders.
“I am happy to return on the international scene representing my nation and I am hopeful that I will be fit by tomorrow and make it for the final game on Wednesday. At the moment my leg is swollen,” said Makotose.
“I have been advised to take a rest and I will do so because it is better I take a rest for a few weeks than compromise and force a game then I might not play for the rest of my life.
“The first half was hard because it was slippery and they drove the ball. We needed to counter that,” Mandenge told the Ugandan media.