Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Zimbabwe Sables squad is starting to shape up as reinforcements continue to trickle in by the day.
Following the arrival of tighthead prop, Michael Kumbirai, last week, the likes of fullback Tapiwa Mafura, Kudakwashe “Goofy” Nyakufaringwa, Liam Larkin and trialist David Erwes, have also joined camp.
The latest arrivals come at a time as Zimbabwe prepares to host Zambia in back-to-back blockbuster rugby Tests starting this weekend.
The first match is scheduled for Harare Sports Club’s Machinery Exchange Grounds this Saturday after which the two teams will play the return leg at Hartsfield on May 2.
“Zambia have been great rivals and great friends of ours for some time, and we are looking forward to matching up against them yet again,” said Ricky Chirengende, the Sables assistant coach. We would love to see their rugby grow and always jump at the opportunity to play them.
“When their rugby improves, ours improves as well and, as such, we are always willing to come up against each other, help each other learn and get better. So, yeah, we very much looking forward to the next two Test matches.
“ We are friends but also fierce competitors and fierce rivals as well. When we get on the field, we always push each other for excellence,” he said.
Chirengende added: “It’s always exciting to go back as that venue as it is really the home of Zimbabwe rugby. “A lot of rugby has been played there and Matabeleland is a heartbeat and a vital cog in the Sables. I think you will be hard-pressed to find any Sable team that didn’t have strong representation from Matabeleland.
“So it’s nice that we are going back there.
“The game is going to get a lot of people excited about rugby in that region again.
“It is fully deserved and it is about time.”
Zimbabwe have been busy preparing for their Nations Cup opener against Tonga on July 4 and everything that comes is part of their preparations for the country’s return to international rugby.
This includes the match ups against Zambia and later South Africa A in June.
The Sables are likely to look different against Zambia this weekend following the arrivals of Kumbirai, Mafura and Nyakufariwa.
Another new face that has been added to the ever-growing squad is David Ewers.
Born November 3, 1990, David Peter Ewers is a back rower who predominantly prefers to play the number eight position.
He attended Hillcrest Preparatory School in Mutare before his family left Zimbabwe when he was 13, to movie to the United Kingdom
It is in the UK that his rugby career took off, playing for Exeter Chiefs from 2010 to 2023.
Ewers made 226 appearances for the Chiefs and scored 40 tries.
