Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Paul Munyuki
10 November 2009
Harare — ZIMBABWE Sevens rugby side, the Cheetahs, have began preparations for the Dubai and George legs of the International Rugby Board Sevens Series.
Dubai and George (South Africa) are back-to-back tournaments that are played on the first two weekends of December and serve as the opening legs of the IRB series.
This means this year the Dubai tournament is set to kick off on December 4 with most of the teams leaving for South Africa three days later to take part in the George event scheduled to start on December 11.
Cheetahs manager Bruce Hobson yesterday indicated that his troops -- who have been involved in a number of international tournaments in preparation for the IRB series -- were scheduled to go back into camp last night.
The preparations are starting with split camps where Hobson will monitor players who are based in Harare and those in the Southern Region will assemble in Bulawayo under the guidance of coach Gilbert Nyamutsamba.
Most of the players have been involved in the gym programme but they were last night set to undergo bleep tests while a strength test and conditioning are set for tomorrow.
"We are going to have a bleep test for the players tonight (last night) and on Wednesday we will have a conditioning and strength test.
"On Friday evening starting at 5.30pm we are going to have a training session at Old Georgians and the good thing is that players in the Goshawks will also be part of this programme.
"I am yet to confirm with Grant (Mitchell who is a player/fitness trainer) if the players would be able to have another training session on Sunday afternoon because we do not want to over train them as they also have gym sessions in the afternoons during the week.
"But at the moment we are training in two groups with some players in Bulawayo while others are here (Harare) as we await to get into full camp," said Hobson.
The Cheetahs are excepted to get to come together on November 23, six days before their scheduled departure with Bulawayo-based players -- Gardner Nechironga, Japheth Ndebele and Slatter Ndlovu -- expected to join camp.
Wesley Mbanje, who is currently in South Africa is also expected to be part of the camp.
Fortune Chipendo, Grant Mitchell, captain Jacques Leitao, Njabulo Ndlovu, Tangai Nemadire, Gerald Sibanda, Graham Kaulback, Daniel Hondo and Tafadzwa Mhende are in Harare.
"Our departure is on the 29th and we will go via Johannesburg to Dubai and we are expected to be in George on December 6 so that we get used to the conditions in good time before the tournament kicks off," said Hobson.
Hobson is aware that the Cheetahs' performance at these two tournaments will be crucial in determining Zimbabwe's fate at the Hong Kong tournament next year.
The Hong Kong event is a 24-team tournament and a good performance by the improving Cheetahs could see them getting an invitation to feature along the traditional IRB Series teams.
In Africa, only the Springboks of South Africa and Kenya have been a regular feature at the series.
The Cheetahs believe they could be the third African side in that elite group.
But to enhance their chances, Zimbabwe would have to impress at the Dubai and the George competitions.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
