Wooden spoon beckons for Cheetahs at RWC Sevens

ZIMBABWE are facing the prospect of finishing as the worst ranked men’s team at the Rugby World Cup after they suffered two defeats on day two of the tournament at the Cape Town Stadium yesterday.

The Cheetahs now face Jamaica in a playoff for position 23 this morning, which is a repeat of the 2018 Rugby World Cup in San Francisco, United States of America when the Zimbabweans got the better of Jamaica 33-21 to secure second from bottom the whole tournament.

After losing 31-7 to Canada on the opening day of the Rugby World Cup Sevens, a result which saw them being relegated to bowl section, the Cheetahs lost 28-0 to Hong Kong and then came out second best 21-17 against South Korea yesterday to remain winless.

While they were outclassed by Hong Kong, the Kudzai Mashawi captained Cheetahs were much better against South Korea. They did concede a try with 15 seconds played but fought hard to score their second try of the tournament, Godfrey Magaramombe, the scorer in the loss to Canada going over the line just before halftime.

Zimbabwe appeared much better organised in the second half and they did score two tries in the closing stanza of the match. Skipper Kudzai Mashawi and Tapiwa Malenga crossed the whitewash but Zimbabwe’s fightback came a little bit late and they will now fight hard to avoid finishing as the worst men’s team at the global showpiece.

Magaramombe reckoned they should have come off the blocks much quicker as it is always tough coming from behind.

“We are still working, hopefully we can build better next time, start well and finish well. It’s always hard to adjust the nerves getting into the game so I think some of the guys just need that extra switch earlier on the game, if that is fixed, I think we will be able to play well,’’ he added.

On the prospects of finishing as the worst ranked men’s team, Magaramombe indicated that they were not focusing on positions as concentration on putting together a competitive side.

“At this stage, we are really not focusing on positions, we are building a team, still fresh, I think we will be doing our work on taking each game by each game as it goes and hopefully, we just keep on getting better,’’ said Magaramombe said.

Injuries have disrupted coach Graham Kaulback’s plans at the Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Shingirai Katsvere picked up an injury just after the start of the match against Hong Kong and Keegan Cooke also got injured, with the two sitting out the clash with South Korea.

Sam Phiri also entered the tournament with a tight hamstring, which saw him miss the matches against Canada and Hong Kong. He did have a run when Zimbabwe faced South Korea but was clearly not at his best.

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