Veronica Gwaze-Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Zimbabwe national rugby side are not throwing in the towel and still believe they can stage a good fight when they face Uruguay in the World Rugby Nations Cup in London tomorrow.
The Sables will be hoping for their first win of the tournament after falling 43-7 to Samoa last week.
The match gets underway at 5pm with local fans able to watch it at Harare Sports Club at the Capitalk watch party.
Entry is free.
Sables coach Pieter Benade has rung in tactical changes to salvage the situation with captains Hilton Mudariki and Kudzai Mashawi left out in the ‘new look’ match-day two squad.
Among the more notable changes is Tapiwa Mafura reverting to his fullback position while Jason Robertson moves to the fly-half.
Sables lock Daniel Cooke is optimistic that Zimbabwe can turn around their fortunes as they have been putting in an extra shift in their buildup.
“Hopefully, we will up our game and be able to put our best foot forward and perform on the day,” he said.
“Playing out here is a huge experience, you don’t want to be stuck playing the same opponents as much as we love to play the African teams.
“You need a little fresh blood coming in, something to get excited about, something to get your overseas supporters excited about and curious.”
Cooke said it is an exciting experience for the Sables to play in London.
However, with a different weather environment compared to Zimbabwe, he notes that the team will bank on their international player’s experience.
“It’s a big change playing in Zimbabwe or Africa compared to being here where it is often freezing cold,” he said.
“You know, it’s a lot of wet weather, a lot of muddy pictures…I think at times they will be playing at four degrees.
“In this regard it becomes more about packing the correct bag, if you’re well dressed, you can deal with any weather…making sure you warm up properly, those sorts of things will help the boys a lot.”
In their previous two games, the Sables have enjoyed love from their legion of fans.
They played in a packed National Sports Stadium, narrowly beating Namibia 36-33 in a Test Match before facing off Samoa at DIY Kitchens Stadium in Wakefield, England.
Cooke and his mates are still basking in the fans’ love, a feeling he notes will be a huge motivation factor for the team.
The Sables will be expecting passion from the stands when they play at Trailfinders Sports Ground in Ealing, a venue with a capacity of around 5 000, best suited for an intimate and loud home-away-from-home atmosphere.
“That’s exactly what you want, you know, for me, playing at NSS was amazing…having all those supporters come out, it echoed down to the players on the field,” he recalls.
“I can remember running out, it felt like a giant ball of bees and I know that we have huge support down here of Zimbabweans in the UK and they will all come down.
“I think it is almost going to be home-ground advantage, we very much look forward to it and technically, we have told each other that we don’t step on the field if we are not expecting a win.
“We are psyching each other to make sure that mentally we are on the same page and very well motivated.”
