Poor preps hurt Sables

Zimbabwe rugby national team, The Sables are just a match away from another continental title.

ZIMBABWE’s flagship national rugby side, the Sables, are just a match away from another continental title but lack of solid preparations ahead of their battle against old foe, Namibia, might cost them in the decisive Africa Cup encounter slated for Windhoek next month.
Although Cyprian “Supa” Mandenge, the Zimbabwe rugby team coach yesterday remained hopeful of conquering Namibia, he slammed the shoddy preparations.
The soft-spoken coach told the Financial Gazette Sport that the worst part for the Sables was that no friendly matches have been lined up to fine-tune their game plan ahead of the decisive match.
His remarks come at a time when the Welwitschias are taking their preparations seriously compared to Zimbabwe.
Namibia, ranked second in Africa, have already played two preparatory games aga-inst Russia this month.
Now, given the importance of the match, the big question is: Is the Zimbabwe Rugby Union serious about winning the African Cup, a feat the team achieved three years ago?
“We need to prepare well because this is one game we must win,” said Mandenge.
“Yes we started preparations but these have not been the greatest. Yes, we managed to beat Kenya but they had prepared well.
“We are playing Namibia but they have prepared well, they have played Russia two weeks in a row. We should have played friendlies as well.
“We can win it (against Namibia) but it goes back to preparations. I think this is one area we are not doing well.”
The Sables beat Kenya 28-20 in the opening encounter last month and a 19-8 win over Tunisia early this month at Prince Edward School’s Jubilee Field ensured that the Sables remained on course to win their second Africa Cup title.
A win in Windhoek on August 15 will see them emerge triumphant in this competition.

newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw