The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
SABLES vice-captain Tichafara Makwanya says the national rugby team will have to play smart if they entertain hopes of doing well in the Gold Cup. Zimbabwe collected their first set of maximum points in the Gold Cup (formerly Africa Cup) in over a year courtesy of hard fought 28-16 win over Senegal at Ibar Mar Diop Stadium in Dakar on June 24.
While the win saw the team shoot up to the top of Group 1A, Makwanya said a lot more work was needed before the nation would start dreaming. “One of the disadvantages we have had in the past is that we give away too much in the size department, and against Senegal it almost cost us. “Speed alone won’t help us against Kenya and Namibia, so we need to play a lot more intelligently, consistently and with a lot more toughness if we are come away with wins against these two sides.
“The game against Senegal was a must-win in that we needed to get our Gold Cup campaign off to a good start,” said the 29-year-old Old Hararians skipper. “We also had to make up for last year’s disastrous campaign and the fact that we did that is good. What we need to do now is make sure we maintain our momentum, polish up on our weaknesses and make sure we win against Namibia and Kenya.”
Makwanya missed last year’s campaign after rupturing his Achilles and had to dig deep as he made a return against one of Zimbabwe’s fiercest rivals. “My comeback could have been better. I missed a couple of kicks in the second half, which ended up being the difference between a stroll in the park and a hard fought win.
“It didn’t help much that my comeback was against Senegal who have so much bad blood with Zimbabwe given our last encounter back in 2005. “They lived up to our every expectation. There were a lot of head-butts, eye gouging attempts and spitting from the Senegalese players,” said Makwanya.
Zimbabwe returns to action when they travel to Namibia on July 15, after which they will host Kenya in Bulawayo on July 22. A home tie against Tunisia, on July 29, and an away trip to Uganda on August 5 round out the campaign.
