The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
THE strength of Gilbert Nyamutsamba’s resolve will face its sternest test next weekend when the Zimbabwe Cheetahs coach leads his charges to the Africa Cup Sevens Tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The two-day tournament is slated for November 8 to 9.
The competition’s added bonus will be used as a qualifier for next year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
While seeking a route to Tokyo 2020, the Africa Men’s Sevens best two teams will also be in the mix for the World Rugby Sevens Series qualifier tournament.
South Africa and Kenya are currently competing at the World Series, but only South Africa is already qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Now at least 14 teams – Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar, Zambia, Tunisia, Senegal, Morocco, Namibia, Ghana, Mauritius, Ivory Coast and Nigeria – will be vying for the top two spots to secure automatic tickets to the Tokyo Games.
The winning teams will also get a second bite of the cherry with the Repechage tournament.
As Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria make their debut, defending champions Zimbabwe go into the tournament with shoddy and almost non-existent preparations to talk about.
Since clinching the cup in Madagascar last year, Nyamutsamba has only met his charges a handful of times.
They have only competed in three tournaments – the Harare International tournament, Zambia Sevens and Kenya Safari.
Of the three, only last month’s Kenya Safari Sevens resembled anything close to being competitive and Nyamutsamba went into battle with a depleted side that lacked some of his trusted generals and first team regulars.
The result was a string of defeats to the likes of Seventise (24-0), Kenya (19-12), Spain (31-0) and Uganda (17-12).
Compounding this shoddy run-up is the fact that 2018 Sevens’ breakout star Shingi Hlanguyo has been ruled out of the Africa Cup completely, while there are doubts over the fitness levels of Kuda Chiwanza and Shingi Katsvere.
However, just like how he has been for the duration of his rein at the helm of the Cheetahs ensemble, Nyamutsamba appears unfazed by the tough times ahead.
He also spoke about the Kenya tournament.
“We went into to the tournament fully aware of the competition that awaited us.
“The team had last met at the Zambia Sevens and we had a few debutants in Kenya. There was very little time to train as a unit and so our objectives had to change. We clearly defined what we wanted to accomplish as well as what we could and could not accomplish.
“Overall, the objectives of the tour were achieved, we needed quality game time ahead of the Africa Cup in Johannesburg and we got that.
“Going into the Africa Cup, we wanted to try out our new systems and patterns of play, and we did that. We also wanted to get the team chemistry and synergies going, we managed to do just that.
“We achieved the objectives we set out to achieve. We got game time on a competitive stage and gave the team some time to gel with the new players. We also managed to gauge the strengths of the new players and systems.
“The results were not what we wanted, but we are work in continuous progress,” he said.
Nyamutsamba and his charges have since left for South Africa, where a week-long camp has been planned as a final lap in the team’s preparations for the Africa Cup.
“I’m confident that after the Safari Sevens and the subsequent camp, we will be ready to defend our Africa Cup title and hopefully qualify for the Olympics.
“This is a high performance camp, with all our players at our disposal. The main objective is for the team to play at their optimum best. We need to perfect our systems and patterns of play in order to get the players in the right mind frame.”
Some trusted generals will be available for the tournament. These include the South Africa-based duo of Riaan O’Neil and Tapiwa Tsomondo, Germany-based veteran Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, and Connor Pritchard, who is based in Australia.
The quartet have not featured for the Cheetahs this year.
“We are watching (Shingi) Katsvere and (Kudakwashe) Chiwanza’s injuries. They are in their final stages of the rehabilitation.
“If they fail to pass fitness, we have enough cover in the recent debutants and the other players.
“The best possible side will make the final team,” Nyamutsamba said.
