Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema Zimpapers Sports Hub
The Zimbabwe sevens rugby team has a short turnaround before travelling to Kenya for next week’s Safari Sevens.
However, Cheetahs coach Fortune Chipendo hopes to utilise the little time he has left to cast his net wide and throw in a couple of new faces for the new challenge.
“We hope to regroup tomorrow (today) and kick-start our preparations for the Safari Sevens,” said Chipendo.
“We expect to have as many as 30 players trooping in and hope to give some new faces a chance to play when we travel to Kenya next week.
“If everything goes according to plan, we will intensify our training and get in four sessions before leaving.
“The goal is to widen our player base and give as many players a chance,” he said.
The annual Safari Sevens rugby tournament returns next week, with the event slated for October 9-11 at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya.
The event is expected to attract 12 men’s and six women’s teams.
The Kenya Shujaa are the men’s defending champions and they will be joined by their developmental team, the Kenya Morans, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Shogun (UK), Scotland Sevens, the
French Renegades, Wonder Sevens, Wellington Jaguars (South Africa), GEL Sevens (South Africa), SportPesa Fast Forwards (SA), and the Southern California Nomads (USA).
The women’s category will feature six teams, namely the Kenya Lionesses, Kenya Cubs, Uganda, Shibli, Costa Blanca Barbarians (Spain – 2024 champions), and Tunisia.
There are reports that a schools category will be added to the programme as Zimbabwe and Uganda school sides join Kenyan regional sides.
The schools’ event is slated for October 9-10
The Safari Sevens event is slated to be Zimbabwe’s first event after gaining promotion to the World Rugby HSBC SVNS 3.
The Cheetahs were crowned Africa Cup champions after dispatching hosts Uganda 26-19 in a tantalising final at the weekend.
The two teams came into the tournament as co-favourites to clinch the title and, true to form, both displayed a blend of enterprising rugby over the two-day event.
Hosts Uganda ultimately suffered heartbreak in front of a partisan home crowd at Kyadondo Rugby Grounds, while Zimbabwe finished the tournament as the only unbeaten side.
On the way to the final, the Cheetahs made light work of Morocco (19-12), Ghana (40-17), and Nigeria (26-14) in the group stages of the tournament.
They were then made to sweat in the knock-out stages, eking out victories over Zambia (24-19) and Uganda (26-19) in the semi-finals and final, respectively.
The result came as a huge relief for Chipendo, who fielded a slightly new-look team but got the all-important victory.
“Yes, these are exciting times for Zimbabwe,” said Chipendo on the World Rugby HSBC SVNS 3 qualification.
“We have been knocking on that door for a while now, but we are here now and I am so happy for the boys.
“It comes as a huge relief as we went into the tournament as hot favourites and we managed to secure qualification.
“We went with a good blend of both experience and some new blood, and I am glad to report that everyone stepped up.
“There were a couple of games where we had to dig deep and senior guys led by example.
“The new guys like Tatenda Kamubvumbi and PK Manyakara held their own and managed to fit into our system seamlessly,” he said.
