Harare — National rugby sevens team manager Bruce Hobson has revealed that there will be no major changes to the Cheetahs' squad to take part in the Lusaka Castle Sevens in Zambia this weekend.

Zimbabwe, who are the defending champions, will be represented by two teams in the main tournament and are also preparing a women's side for a similar competition. Hobson said they were not going to tamper with the Cheetahs side that won the title last season as they aim for a record equalling success this weekend.

"We are most certainly going to use the bulk of the players that have been part of this team. The technical team may decide to add one or two youngsters to see how they play but no major surprises should be expected. "But the Goshawks side - which is our second string - will have a lot of Under-19 and Under-20 players. This is a development side and we are keen to have a look at the youngsters," said Hobson.

He said they have kept faith in old horses like skipper Jacques Laitao, Tafadzwa Mhende, Gardner Nechironga, Fortune Chipendu and Grant Mitchell in the first team. The Cheetahs have been training at Old Georgians while the women's side, the Pangolins, were polishing up their act at Harare Sports Club.

The final teams will be announced tomorrow ahead of Friday's departure. Hobson said only the Cheetahs will embark on a full camp before leaving for the tournament. The Castle Sevens has attracted 11 foreign teams this year. Matabeleland Province also received an invitation while Harare Sports Club are also likely to return this year after being placed on standby.

Other participating countries include Botswana who will field Gaborone Sports Club. South Africa will be represented by three sides that include Northern Region, Soweto Select and record four-time champions Mpumalanga.

Namibia, Uganda and Kenya will also field two teams each.The Cheetahs who have won the tournament for three successive years were drawn in the same group as last year's finalists and record winners Mpumalanga, Botswana and Namibia. The Goshawks were placed in Group C with hosts Zambia, Botswana's B side Gaborone Select and Soweto Select. Matabeleland Select are in Group A that includes tournament favourites Kenya, Zambia B side and Northern Region. The top two teams from each of the three groups will go through to the quarterfinals where they will be joined by the best two third-placed sides in the preliminary rounds.

Last year, Zimbabwe dominated the tournament when the Cheetahs successfully defended their title while the Goshawks won the Bowl final. The Cheetahs destroyed four-time champions Mpumalanga of South Africa 33-0 to register their third successive championship. The Goshawks who overpowered countrymen Harare Sports Club in the semi-final came from behind to snatch an important 7-5 win over Zambia Defence Forces in the Bowl final.