African Games to give Cheetahs a good run

Deputy Sports Editor

FOR Cheetahs head coach Ricky Chirengende, next month’s African Games could not have come at a better time as the event looks set to give his charges a good run and taste of competitive rugby.

The Cheetahs are part of a strong cast of Team Zimbabwe that will feature at the African Games jamboree in Accra, Ghana, from March 8 to 23.

And for Chirengende, the Games are coming at an opportune time as they present them with a chance to prepare for the Africa Cup later in the year.

The African Games could also come in handy, especially after the Cheetahs last year failed to qualify for the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.

Kenya and Uganda will be the African representatives at the annual competition.

“The African Games are very important to us for several reasons, with the first being that it is an honour to have been chosen to represent the country and, hopefully, bring back a medal,” said Chirengende.

“It is also fortuitous that we have been chosen at a time when we won’t be competing in the Challenger Series, and the African Games give us the opportunity to give the boys a run and play some competitive rugby.

“The Africa Cup remains our biggest assignment this year and, as such, everything we do will be geared towards that.”

Rugby is one of the 10 sport codes in which Team Zimbabwe will compete in at the quadrennial Games.

The other disciplines include athletics, chess, cycling, triathlon, cricket, swimming, tennis, judo and karate.

Given their profile and experience, the Cheetahs are among Team Zimbabwe’s medal hopefuls.

They are not short on seasoned players given the presence of skipper Hilton Mudariki, among others, in the squad.

“We haven’t spoken about medals as a team yet and we are just focusing on Niger, who will be our first opponents in Ghana.

“That is not to say that we are not aware of the expectation, given our third-place ranking on the continent, behind Kenya and Uganda, and we will do our best to bring back a medal,” said Chirengende.

The squad had, however, suffered a setback with the late withdrawal of Tapiwa Mafura.

Speed merchant Shingi Katsvere is still out with an injury, although there has been a lot of progress in his rehabilitation.

The trio of Dion Khumalo, Munyaradzi Ngundu and Trevor Gurwe are in line to get their long-awaited debuts, while there are returns for Carlos Matematema and Edward Sigauke.

“The key word here is continuation, as you are most likely to see the same squad from that which endured the heartbreak of failing to qualify for the Olympics.

“We have also decided to blood in a couple of players, with Ngundu, Gurwe and Khumalo likely to be handed their debuts during the Games.

“Carlos Matematema was dropped last time around but we believe he has done the work and demonstrated the hunger and effort we want in the team.

“He is likely to make the trip together with Edward Sigauke, who is based in the United States of America, and will be among our foreign-based players.”

The Cheetahs have been put in Pool C, alongside Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Niger.