The ManicaPost
Ngoni Dapira
ZIMBABWE’s Sevens rugby team, the Cheetahs, will today (Friday) kick off the Pool G matches against Guyana as the 2015 Hong Kong Sevens series roars to life.
The match kicks off at 1pm. The three-day tournament will run until Sunday. Twenty-eight national teams will be taking part in the core-status qualifiers tournament, which will also serve as the qualifiers for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where Sevens rugby will be making its return.
The Hong Kong series has 15 core-status teams and 12-non-core status teams vying for the promotion ticket. Belgium will be this year’s 16th invitational team.
The Cheetahs in Pool G will later today face Tonga at 3.12pm and tomorrow (Saturday) face Spain at 10.06am.
Other non-core status teams which will be vying for the sole ticket include Hong Kong, Uruguay, Brazil and Mexico in Pool E, while Pool F features Russia, Papua New Guinea, South Korea and Tunisia.
Newly appointed Cheetahs head coach Daniel Hondo will have a lot of weight on his shoulders for the mammoth task of qualifying for core-status.
Hondo, a former Cheetahs player, knows the stakes at such levels and will be hoping to carve his own history and lead the team to qualify for core status.
After spending last week training alongside the South Africa Sevens side at their world-class University of Stellenbosch training facilities, fitness should not be a concern.
The little known Caribbean Island country, Guyana, is no walkover and, just like Zimbabwe, is out for their breakthrough.
Tonga and Spain will, however, be the biggest hurdles in this group although the Cheetahs have played against Tonga before.
The experienced squad captained by veteran player Jacques Leitao has no new additions with all the players having played for the Cheetahs before.
Germany-based gasman Tafadzwa Chitokwindo was not part of the training camp in Cape Town and is expected to link up with the rest of the squad in Hong Kong.
Rugby analyst Mackenzie Munetsi said in the super rugby nations most teams always come out with fresh talent each year, a reason why they keep making the grade.
“In Zimbabwe, we regurgitate the same people, which is why year in year out we produce the same results.
“Look at South Africa and New Zealand they have new names popping up each year. We need to scout for more talent and I hope next year we will do this,” said Munetsi.
The Hong Kong Sevens is regarded as the premier sevens event on the International Rugby Board World Sevens series.
If the Cheetahs win at the qualifiers, they make the grade for core status in the elite Nine-leg World Series.
Cheetahs squad
Jacques Leitao (captain), Boyd Rouse, Njabulo Ndlovu, Shayne Makombe, Riaan O’Neill, Kudakwashe Chiwanza, Kilvan Magunje, Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, Hilton Mudariki, Stephan Hunduza, Biselele Tshamala, Graham Kaulback, Head coach: Daniel Hondo, Assistant coach: John Ewing, Team manager: Steve McDonald.
