Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) has announced that the Sables will return to action next month in a quadrangular Test series in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
The tournament will be held at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sports from November 12-21.
The World Rugby-run tournament is aimed at providing suitable high-performance competition in November for the highest ranked African sides, excluding South Africa, plus an invitational side from Brazil.
Namibia is the highest ranked side at number 25, with Zimbabwe ranked 34th and Kenya 35th. Brazil is ranked 26th in the world.
According to ZRU media, Sables’ coach Brandon Dawson welcomed the high-performance games and said they will help the Sables to gauge their strength against top ranked sides ahead of the World Rugby qualifiers set for France in July next year.
Jason Maritz, the Sables manager, said they are looking to secure all international players ahead of the games and is hoping they can get them cleared to travel to South Africa from their different international bases.
Meanwhile, the Sables will join seven other African countries in the continental qualifiers for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which will be staged as a knockout tournament in France in July next year.
The French are also hosts of the 2023 World Cup.
The top eight African teams, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Namibia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Uganda and Senegal, will battle it out in the Rugby Africa Cup 2022 in France, which will serve as the last qualifying round for the 2023 World Cup. – @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter