The Sunday Mail
THE razzmatazz arrival of Peter de Villiers on the local rugby scene appears to have taken away the limelight from Sevens.
And Cheetahs gaffer Gilbert Nyamutsamba is not pleased that this may have thrown his July 2018 World Cup preps into disarray.
The Zimbabwe Rugby Union has been devoting much time and resources to the Sables, leaving the World Cup-bound Cheetahs in limbo.
Players who used to shun the XV’s side for the Sevens are pulling all the stops to impress PDV and get into his squad. That has left Nyamutsamba in a fix as most of his key players are in the Sables training squad.
“There is very little to talk about in terms of preparations for the Sevens World Cup at the moment,” said the 47-year-old coach.
“If I am to be totally honest, our program suffered a still birth months ago when we qualified for the World Cup but failed to get regular competitive games, tournaments and camps to prepare. A huge cloud has hung over us since.
“As we speak, there are about 14 sevens players in the Sables’ training squad, leaving us in a very precarious position.”
Nyamutsamba disclosed that de Villiers asked to have a close look at some key members of the Cheetahs when he started working in Zimbabwe.
“What happened was that when Peter de Villiers got appointed there was very little rugby being played in the country, leaving the sevens’ guys as the only players with any sought of fitness, conditioning and match readiness.
“I met the Sables coach, who expressed desire to try out some of my guys. I had no option but to release some of the guys as it was for the good of the country and the players themselves expressed interest in playing for him,” said Nyamutsamba.
Nyamutsamba, however, remains hopeful of coming up with a team that can hold its own in the United States in July.
“The target is now qualification for the 2020 Olympics and I intend to use the remaining time and tournaments, like the World Cup, itself to prepare. I have already submitted my program to the union and have requested at least one more tournament before we travel to the US.”
