Wounded Sables face relegation battle

Sables coach, Peter De Villiers

FROM being held 23 all by Morocco in Harare last month, to going down 45- 34 in Nairobi at the hands of Kenya, to sleeping on the streets in Tunis before losing 18-14 to Tunisia, the Sables quests to qualify for next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan seem to have gone up in smoke.
Zimbabwe has failed to transform superiority on paper during the build-up of this campaign into success on the field, and are banking on their last two games against Namibia and Uganda, to remain in the top-tier.
The last time Zimbabwe qualified for the Rugby World Cup was in 1991, the country’s other previous participation at the global event was in 1987. On both outings, the Sables, who were the only African representative failed to progress beyond the first round.
The dark cloud hanging over the Sables qualification for the global showcase over the past 27 years has not been blown away by the current crop of players who despite their enthusiasm, confidence and hunger for success have failed to exorcise the ghost haunting the national team.
The Sables are now fighting relegation with their next match against Namibia, to some extent testing the pulse, focus and preparedness of the country after their nightmare trip in Tunisia when they were briefly turned into ‘street fathers’ despite the sport being widely considered a gentleman’s game.
In an interview with The Financial Gazette, yesterday, Sables coach Peter de Villiers said the team would be going in camp today, adding his game plan would be centred on the players being focused on the game.
“What we are doing differently this time around, is to ensure that the players focus on the game and nothing else. There were a lot of distractions off the field in previous games, but the (Zimbabwe Rugby) Union has stepped in, there are a lot of promises. It is encouraging that a lot of people came to the party including government,” said de Villiers.
Zimbabwe will host Namibia at the country’s traditional home of rugby Hartsfield in Bulawayo on August 4, in a game that de Villiers admitted would not be an easy walk in the part as their opponents were favourites.
Namibia, who have qualified for the last five editions of the World Cup, are on course to automatically qualify for next year’s global showpiece as they top the Rugby Africa Gold Cup standings with 15 points, while Kenya are three points behind in second.
“Namibia are out and out favourites, for the past three years they have been receiving support from World Rugby. Those finances have enabled them to build strong structures and a system to come up with strong teams at different levels,” de Villiers said.
While in the past the Sables’ major Achilles Heel has been their level of preparedness, this time around Zimbabwe Rugby Union ensured the team received adequate preparations after organising several training camps, including one in South Africa, where the team played fine tuning matches.
Instead, selection issues have been the team’s major stumbling block this time around, with de Villiers’ unwillingness to select players plying their trade abroad backfiring terribly after most of the local based players in the squad failed to deliver.
The former Springboks coach, however, remains optimistic his charges will restore some lost pride in the last two matches.
“We really want to do good and the game of rugby at times is all about how you perform on the day and respond to your opponent’s game plan. We need to control the score board in our last two games,” he said.
With African rugby fast improving, it will not be easy for Zimbabwe to haul itself back into the top-tier if they are demoted.
Six African countries — Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya and Uganda — are in the running for next year’s World Cup in Japan.
Kenya, who lie second, can confirm their place for the Repechage tournament to be held in November in France with a win against Tunisia next month in Nairobi.
Should they finish second, Kenya will face Canada, Hong Kong and Germany in the playoffs, with the winner qualifying for the Rugby World Cup in Japan next year.
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