The Sunday News
THE Zimbabwe Cheetahs ended the opening day of the Confederation of African Rugby Africa Cup Sevens tournament with a flourish when they massacred Ivory Coast 53-0 at Prince Edward High School in Harare yesterday.
Nine tries, four of them converted ensured that Zimbabwe are in second place in Pool B with 10 points from three wins out of the four matches they have played so far, the same number of points as top of the pool Namibia and third placed Kenya with the Namibians leading because of a superior points difference.
The Gilbert Nyamutsamba coached Zimbabwe Cheetahs did not have such a great start to the tournament, scrapping through a 26-19 triumph over Nigeria in their first match and then suffered a 19-17 defeat to Kenya. Zimbabwe picked themselves up to brush aside Uganda 19-12, thanks to a last minute sparkling try from winger Tafadzwa Chitokwindo. Against Uganda, things did not go Zimbabwe’s way with seasoned winger Wesley Mbanje withdrawing with just four minutes played due to a hamstring injury. To add to the home side’s woes, another experienced player Gardner Nechironga was sent to the sin bin for two minutes for back chatting at the referee.
Against the Ivorians, the Cheetahs went ran riot, Chitokwindo going over the line with just 28 seconds played. The man nicknamed Rubber because of his immense speed, Chitokwindo went over the line again for his brace, the other tries in the first half coming from Shayne Makombe, Kilvan Magunje and Fortune Chipendu as the Cheetahs led 31-0 going into the break.
Nechironga crossed the line with a minute gone in the second half, the other set of five points scored by Boyd Rouse, Rian O’Neil and Stephan Hunduza in the second period.
It was the kind of performance Nyamutsamba would have expected from his troops as they brace for a tough battle against Namibia this morning which will determine if they will progress through to the semifinals.
Uganda did Zimbabwe a massive favour by defeating their neighbours Kenya 14-12 in the last piece action on the day. A win for Kenya would have complicated things for Zimbabwe who must finish on top of the pool to avoid a meeting with the Marius Schoeman coached South African Academy in the last four. South African Academy, made up of up-and-coming talent from across the Limpopo River is the only side yet to taste defeat in the tournament.
Schoeman’s men are on top of Pool A with 12 points with four wins from the same number of matches they have played while Tunisia occupy second spot with 10 points.
At the conclusion of the pool matches this morning, the tournament will proceed to the playoffs. Teams that finish in the top two in their respective pools will progress through to the semifinals of the Cup competition.
The tournament is being used to determine teams that will represent the African continent at the Hong Kong Sevens in March next year which itself serves as a World Sevens Series qualifier. With South Africa and Kenya already enjoying core membership status, their teams playing in the tournament in Harare have nothing to play for save for gaining some experience. That means Zimbabwe can lose in the semifinals and still book their place in Hong Kong if the final of the Africa Cup is competed for by South Africa as well as Kenya.
