The Sunday Mail
ZIMBABWE sevens coach Gilbert Nyamutsamba looked like he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed for the larger part of the Kwese Victoria Falls Sevens opening day here yesterday.
However, Nyamutsamba was all smiles after watching the country’s representatives – the Cheetahs, Goshawks and Zimbabwe president’s VII – make a bold statement with some entertaining rugby at Victoria Falls Primary School.
Placed in Pool B- alongside Zambia, Botswana ‘A’ and Zimbabwe president’s VII, the Cheetahs finished the day undefeated and are clear frontrunners for today’s semi-finals.
The Cheetahs beat Zambia 21-0, the president VII 34-0 and Botswana 63-0.
They will meet the Goshawks.
The country’s second string side, the Goshawks, also had a good in the office, finishing second after only tasting defeat once,
They lost 7-12 to group winners Namibia, but beat Zambia ‘A’ 19-15 and Botswana 26-7.
The only blemish to an otherwise stellar day in the office for Nyamutsamba was that, despite impressing the sizeable crowd that thronged Victoria Falls Primary School, Zimbabwe president’s VII failed to make it into the final stages of the competition.
For their third-place finish, the Zimbabwe President VII were relegated into the Shield category of the competition.
.“So far, after the games we have played I think we are on the right track,’ said Nyamutsamba.
“I was particularly impressed with the way our developmental team, which is playing as the President’s VII, performed.
“As a coach; when you see your third team performing above expectations, it means we have got depth in our squad and a competitive environment going forward.
“After tomorrow’s finals (today), we are going to sit down as a technical team, go through all the players that we have assessed and looked at and then give each of them a program to work on until our next camp.
“This tournament is only the beginning, and given that everyone seems to be hungry, we have a good chance of doing well at the Africa Cup and building a strong Sevens unit.”
Action returns to Victoria Falls Primary School, this morning, with staging of the finals of the competition.
The Cheetahs will meet the Goshawks in the first semi-finals, after which Namibia will face Zambia.
