Chronicle Editor
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
WITH an impressive unbeaten record in the four matches his team has played so far in the Victoria Cup, Zimbabwe Sables coach, Brendan Dawson has outlined that this was always the plan at the start of the competition.
Dawson, whose Sables defeated Uganda 32-26 at Harare Sports Club’s Machinery Exchange Stadium last Saturday are showing the same sort of display they exhibited in 2011 when they won the Victoria Cup, the year it was last competed for. In 2011, Zimbabwe played Kenya and Uganda, with the Sables victorious home as well as away against the East Africans.
Dawson is thrilled with his team’s performance, which has seen them rise to 32 in the world rankings. Their triumph over Uganda saw Zimbabwe jump over Kenya to 32 while the Simbas are now a place down the global standings.
“It’s really exciting to have won four matches, it’s good for everyone, we have jumped Kenya on. People are seeing that Zimbabwe rugby is on its way up,’’ Dawson said.
The former Sables skipper, who is assisted by Zimbabwe born ex Springboks wing Tonderai Chavhanga, believes having the correct structures and players eager to perform for their country has been responsible for the team’s fine run in the Victoria Cup.
“It’s great, I always believed that we could do well, we have got the players and structures. There are a lot of players who want to play for Zimbabwe, everyone wants to play for a winning team, if we can get as many players playing the better,’’ he said.
Dawson also feels that the environment is right for the players to put up their best for their country. The Sables coach is looking to assemble a strong squad ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup qualifiers which start in June next year. He was impressed by the new players he fielded against Uganda last Saturday one of them being United Kingdom based lock Dylan Grogan.
“I was overly impressed, conditions are different, I think for the future they will settle in well. There are a lot of guys out there who want, when it comes to the World Cup qualifiers in June we want to have the best team. What we have done is to instill confidence in the players, putting proper structures, there is unity in the team, we have created a perfect environment, we have got a good bunch of guys, everybody is happy,’’ Dawson said.
Asked if it was always the plan to win the Victoria Cup, Dawson indicated that this was what he sought to do and it meant winning all the six matches. He feels that playing in the SuperSport Rugby Challenge in South Africa prepared the Sables for success in the Victoria Cup.
“Our goal was to win six games and win the Victoria Cup, that’s what we want to do, if we win the next game we win the trophy, which is really nice. We have achieved our goals, obviously we had a good foundation from the SuperSport Challenge,’’ Dawson said.
The Sables have two more matches remaining in the Victoria Cup, both away assignments. First up is a date with Zambia on 14 September and then Kenya seven days later. Zimbabwe will be crowned winners of the Victoria Cup with a win over Zambia.
When Dawson vacated the Sables post in 2015 for Cyprian Mandenge, having been in the in the position since 2007, Zimbabwe were ranked 25th in the world. Dawson expressed his desire to surpass that and feels that they have to play against better positioned countries such as Germany as well as Netherlands.
— @Mdawini_29
Bongani Ndlovu