The Sunday Mail
Don Makanyanga
New Zimbabwe captain Brendon Mandivenga is confident the Sables will begin their quest for success in the Rugby Africa Victoria Cup with a win over neighbours Zambia at Harare Sports Club’s Machinery Exchange stadium on Saturday.
The match kicks off at 15:30hrs.
It will be Mandivenga’s first game as captain with the 24-year-old taking over from veteran prop Denford Mutamangira, who was not considered for selection in the largely youthful squad.
Mandivenga’s leadership qualities shone through when he was captain of the Academy side that represented the country in the SuperSport Challenge in South Africa last month.
“It is an honour and priviledge to captain the national team and I hope to use the experience I got when I was first appointed captain during the SuperSport Challenge and this appointment comes with greater responsibility.
“I hope to lead from the front and help the team win the cup,” said Mandivenga
The fly-half is also hopeful that the experience which his team gained from featuring in the tough SuperSport Challenge League would come in handy when they line up for the Sables.
“We have a team that has experience and youth and the SuperSport Challenge helped us to bond hence everyone is raring to go.
“Zambia is an upcoming team that is full of confidence and everyone in camp is aware of the challenge they can pose but our objective is to win all our games starting with the one on Saturday,” said Mandivenga.
Zimbabwe and Zambia will square off in the rugby edition of the ‘Battle of Zambezi’ in the first assignment for both nations in a tournament that also features Kenya and Uganda.
The Sables need to do well in the Victoria Cup to atone for a miserable run in the Gold Cup last year, which also served as the continental qualifiers for the World Cup to be staged in Japan from September 20 to November 2.
