Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Sables camp have welcomed the clarity that comes with the release for the 2027 Rugby World Cup fixtures that were announced on Monday.
Zimbabwe have been placed in Group C at the World Cup alongside England, Wales and Tonga.
They open their campaign with a tie against Wales at the Adelaide Oval on October 2, 2027.
The Sables will then play England on October 8, also in Adelaide, and then wrap up their group games with a clash against Tonga at Queensland Stadium four days later.
Vice-captain Kudzi Mashawi, while he would have preferred Perth as a base of operation, believes that Zimbabwe playing most of their games in Adelaide makes very little difference given the bigger picture at play.
“Admittedly, we would have loved to play most of our games in Perth, given the higher number of Zimbabweans there, but we will be fine,” said Mashawi.
“The venue makes little difference given that we have Zimbabweans everywhere and I know they will come in their numbers from all over the world.
“We don’t expect to be short of support given there are Zimbabweans living in Australia, those of Zimbabwean origins or heritage and some neutrals who like our play or just want to see us.
“It is up to us to show up, play with pride and fly our nation’s flag high,” he said.
The Adelaide Oval is a 53 000-seater, located in the Parklands, South Australia.
The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league and rugby union matches.
Zimbabwe will play Wales and England at the stadium on October 4 and 8, 2027.
“Those are two tough games but then again there are no easy games at a World Cup,” Mashawi.
“Clarity is important, like I said earlier, and we just happy we now know the teams, fixtures and venues.
“Now is the time we start preparing.
“We are going to the World Cup and those matches as clear underdogs with nothing to lose but something to gain.
“We want to play our best rugby, represent our country with pride and, hopefully, market the sport here,” he said.
While time is fast running out, Zimbabwe will, at least, get the opportunity to fine tune their preparedness when the take part in the World Rugby Nations Cup.
The new tournament was established for the specific purpose of aiding lower ranked countries in the preparations for the World Cup next year.
World Rugby, last month, released the fixtures for said tournament with Zimbabwe placed in the Afro-EuroAsia pool alongside Georgia, Portugal, Hong Kong, Romania and Spain.
