Mudariki happy with qualification
ZIMBABWE Rugby national team captain Hilton Mudariki says he is happy with the team’s qualification to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup games.
Sables finished top of Pool D after beating the Stallions of Burkina Faso 103- 3 and 95-5 last week to book their place in the quarter-finals.
In an interview with H-Metro Sport yesterday Mudariki said he was happy with the way his teammates performed.
“As the captain I am very happy with the way we went about in both games against Burkina Faso.
“We knew what was at stake, we needed to top our pool and proceed to the next level and I am happy we did that,” he said.
He added that there is still a long road ahead for the team to make it to the 2023 World Cup.
“There is still long road ahead, we still have a quarter final to get through next year so a lot of
hard work has got to be put from now going forward.
“We are just taking it one game at a time, we managed to get through the group stage and top our pool so now the next focus is on Ivory Coast in the quarter finals,” said the 29-year-old.
Zimbabwe will now face Ivory Coast next year in the quarter finals of the Africa Cup games at a date to be advised.
Mudariki, who missed the second match against Burkina Faso due to a hip injury, said he is now doing better.
“The call for me to rest on the last game was for me to work on my hip which have been troubling me but I am doing much better.
“I have been working with the team’s physio who is doing great job to make sure I recover fully.”
However, he went on to bemoan the absence of fans in the stadium.
“Look, we miss the fans in the stands in the past two games we played but we are very happy as players, they were behind us tuning online and watching us it means a lot to us,” he said.