Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE and Uganda recorded comfortable victories on the opening of the Rugby Africa Women’s Division One tournament at Stade Auguste Denise, Côte d’Ivoire, on Friday night.
Returning to competitive rugby after a two-year hiatus, Zimbabwe’s Lady Sables struggled to find their rhythm in the opening half.
They came out of their shell in the second half, using their attacking prowess to effect.
The Lady Sables’ bigger set of forwards laid a solid platform for their hard-running backs, and in the end Zimbabwe emerged convincing 46-8 winners over hosts Cote d’Ivoire.
The night proved to be quite the rollercoaster of emotions for Lady Sables head coach Nsikelelo “Sykes” Sibanda, who was forced to watch from home after failing to travel with them due to work commitments.
He was in constant contact with his team and even managed to rally his troops during the half-time break when the scores were tied at eight points apiece.
“I am happy that the girls managed to follow instructions after the half-time break,” he said.
“We gave them a set of instructions and they followed them to the letter.
“Our first half was not too good, we let Cote d’Ivoire dictate the pace and tempo and that is why we struggled so much during the opening exchanges.
“When we started sticking to our patterns, both offensive and defensively and we made a few adjustments in the front row, the ball started flowing very well.
“The result of that is that we then managed to score quite a number of tries. During that half, I think we scored as many 36 points.”
Sibanda said he expected his charges to struggle with their rhythm given their long layoff.
He expressed satisfaction with the win as it set the tempo for the rest of the tournament.
The Lady Sables will face Tunisia on Tuesday, after which they will wrap up their round-robin tournament with a match against pre-tournament favourites Uganda.
“It was always going to be important that we kick off the tournament with a win,” said Sibanda. “It shows that what we have been working on works, boosts the team’s confidence and sets the tempo for the rest of the tournament.
“We shouldn’t place too much emphasis on Tunisia. We just have to play to our strengths and display a lot more discipline.
“We managed to watch Tunisia play; they are a very good side with strong forwards and backs, and it should be an interesting encounter when we play them.”
Pre-tournament favourites Uganda survived a scare from a determined Tunisia to win 27-10.
With the East Africans’ Sevens rugby contingent providing the flair for the Lady Cranes to flourish, Uganda led rather comfortably at half-time 20-5.
However, the scoreline did not fully reflect Tunisia’s resilience and effort.
The North Africans matched Uganda in intensity, but were let down by critical handling errors and knock-ons at decisive moments. With more composure, the game could have unfolded quite differently in the second half.
The four teams will return to the field on Tuesday for the second round of this round-robin competition.
The tournament winner will earn promotion to the elite Rugby Africa Women’s Cup in June, where South Africa, Kenya and Madagascar await in what promises to be a thrilling showdown for continental honours.
