After breaking a couple of jinxes to be crowned the 2024 Rugby Africa Cup champions, Zimbabwe national rugby team captain Hilton Mudariki believes the future looks even brighter with more support as they seek to go a step higher by qualifying for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
The victorious Sables returned home yesterday to a rapturous welcome at the Robert Mugabe International Airport, where scores of ecstatic supporters, families, friends, and officials from the Zimbabwe Rugby Union came to receive them from the 2024 finals held in Uganda.
Mudariki, who was clutching the silverware, as he led his teammates from the arrivals lounge, was in high spirits as the whole lobby broke into song and dance to celebrate the new African champions.
"This is an unreal feeling," he said.
"We are so excited to be back home; we are so excited to put smiles on people's faces. This is what we play for. We play to represent the 16 million, we play to represent the national badge and then to come back home to see people so happy is so amazing and we are delighted."
The Sables, led by their coach Piet Benade, proudly displayed the silverware they won in Uganda after thrashing North African opponents Algeria 29-3 in the final on Sunday. They had also beaten hosts Uganda and bogey side Namibia along the way and the triumph secured Zimbabwe the top seed for next year's competition, which will act as the main qualifiers for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
The competition will feature the top four teams from the recent tournament -- Zimbabwe, Algeria, Namibia, and Kenya -- with the finalist securing their berth in the global showcase. Adequate preparations become key.
"We are hoping to get a couple of Tests in November, try to organise a couple of European teams to either come here or for us to go there.
"I know the process has started, but the key thing for us is to continue playing. We have seen what game time can do and need a lot of that before next year," said Mudariki.
"We are a quality team. I think you saw that. We have a great coaching staff and quality guys that have come in, and that's older guys and younger guys that have stepped up to the plate.
"It's a truly exciting couple of months that I have had. We know that we have a lot of hard work to do, but we enjoy this moment.
"Being Africa Cup champions sounds so good. We now need to keep our feet on the ground. There is a lot of work to be done, with the big one (final World Cup qualifier) next year."
The other major talking point for the Sables was the 32-10 win over Namibia, which broke a 23-year winless jinx against fellow Southern African opponents.
"It was so special because 23 years is a very long time," said Mudariki.
"A couple of guys in our team had not even born yet. So, we knew that we had a tough outing coming up against Namibia. We knew that they are a quality team.
"But I am just so proud of the way the guys fought, the way we prepared throughout the week, the hunger that we showed to want to take the game and I couldn't be more pleased with my boys."
Zimbabwe had a couple of outstanding performers, including crowd favourite Tapiwa Mafura, Ian Prior who made a belated but sweet debut to Test rugby, Aiden Burnett who was named Man of the Match in the final, and double try scorer in the final, Trevor Gurwe.
Sables coach Benade was honoured as the coach of the tournament, while Mafura was duly named player of the tournament.
Benade thinks his Sables can achieve more with improved preparations and more funding.
"I think we are taking baby steps. Somehow it became quite a big step just in terms of the belief that the boys were having in themselves.
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"We have managed to get a couple of wins against Zambia and now these three wins (at the Rugby Africa Cup) against teams that we could have struggled against in the past.
"The belief is there in the boys; to see their country so happy and to see all the supporters so happy. I mean, that's what we are doing it for.
"I think we need to embrace pressure; we need to want to play bigger matches. It's good that people might be looking up to us.
"We are always looking for increased sponsorship and assistance. The way we had to do this (in preparations) was not ideal although somehow, we managed to get a result.
"But that's not to say that's how things should be done all the time. We need to have warm-up games, and slightly better preparations. There is a lot of stuff that we are still working towards, and I think this result can sort of help achieve some of those goals," said Benade.
