The Sunday Mail
Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe sevens rugby team — the Cheetahs — are set to leave for Namibia on Thursday as they get back to action with a dance at the Safland Windhoek Sevens. The sevens tournament, scheduled for September25-26, is one of two tournaments the Cheetahs will be using to prepare for the Africa Cup Olympic games qualifiers. Zimbabwe has also been invited to take part at the Safari Sevens tournament in Kenya.
In Namibia, the Cheetahs will face off against Poland, Botswana as well as provincial teams from South Africa and the hosts Namibia.
At the Kenya Safari Sevens Tournament, scheduled for October 2-4, Zimbabwe is expected to come up against the likes of Portugal and Argentina.
Cheetahs head coach Danny Hondo said his charges are taking the forthcoming tournaments seriously. “Preparations have been going on as well as can be expected considering the financial challenges we have faced,” said Hondo. “We have been training non-stop for months, since January to be exact and have mostly been working on our conditioning. I have been impressed with the way the boys have responded but the next couple of weeks will be very crucial.
“Crucial in that we will finally be able to get some game time and be able to work on our match fitness levels. “While the main aim are the Olympics qualifiers, we are taking these two tournaments very seriously. We are not going to the qualifiers merely to make the numbers but to win and book a ticket to the Olympics and this should be evident in the way we go about business during our preparations.
“We are hoping to go out there and give a good account of ourselves, at the Namibia and Kenya tournaments, after which we will come back home and review our performance.
“It is only after the two tournaments that I will be in a position to asses our strengths and weaknesses and then seek polish up on them before we begin the qualifiers.”
The Cheetahs leave for Namibia with a full-strength squad after it was revealed that Njabulo Ndlovu will be the only absentee due to an ankle injury.
Squad
Boyd Rouse, Biselele Tshamala, Shayne Makombe, Hilton Mudariki, Teddy Hwata, Takudzwa Kumadiro, Stephan Hunduza, Graham Kaulback, Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, Lenience Tambwera, Kilvan Magunje, Kuda Chiwanza, Lucky Sithole, Tendai Dzongodza, Riaan Oneal
