Gidza in high spirits
GILBERT Nyamutsamba is uncharacteristically chirpy these days.
With 2020 looking to be a very active year for the Zimbabwe rugby sevens’ team, no one can blame the Cheetahs’ gaffer for his optimism.
Having started 2019 as African champions, the Zimbabwe Sevens’ rugby team failed to defend their title at the Africa Cup in South Africa last November, sealing what initially looked like yet another year of failed promises.
A third-place finish meant that the Cheetahs failed to get automatic Olympic qualification, and had to settle for the Repechage.
For his part, Nyamutsamba has refused to give any excuses.
“I think the greatest takeaway from the year 2019 was the lesson on time,” said the Cheetahs gaffer.
“Time is of the utmost importance. Quite frankly, we did not put enough time and resources into our preparation.
“If you look at the teams that pipped us to the title — eventual winners Kenya, second-placed Uganda and even Zambia — they put in the work into their Sevens game and preparations for the Africa Cup.
“They were not the outfits we had met during the previous edition, they made great strides in between the two tournaments.
“Inasfar as the players’ injuries or those that failed to make the trip, l refuse to make any excuses. We were just not good enough. If we are to competitively participate, we need to improve on one or two areas.
“We can start by putting in place a proper Sevens’ programme and league so as to widen our players’ base and improve our standing in the format.
“Proper preparations for these tournaments are key,” he said.
In previous editions, the gaffer has strongly spoken about the need for more game time.
He is hopeful following the establishment of the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.
The new and exciting international rugby sevens competition will be launched in February 2020 to boost rugby sevens’ development across the globe. It will serve the dual purpose of giving more exposure to developing rugby nations and creating a pathway to the World Rugby Sevens Series.
The men’s series will feature 13 core teams from the World Rugby regions. These are Brazil, Chile, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.
They will compete over three rounds alongside three invitational teams which will come from the Americas, including
Colombia, Mexico and Paraguay.
After the two rounds, the top eight core teams will then compete for a spot in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in the final play-off tournament at the Hong Kong Sevens in April, thereby replacing the bottom-placed core team the following season.
This promotion and relegation system will provide a clear and consistent development pathway for teams ready to shine at the highest level of rugby sevens.
The two legs of the inaugural World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series will be played in South America in Viña del Mar, Chile, (February 15-16, 2020) and Montevideo, Uruguay (February 22-23, 2020).
Nyamutsamba has welcomed this development.
“This is a good initiative that was long overdue,” he said.
“It will benefit us as we will get more game time. It will allow us to get some momentum as we prepare for the Repechage tournament. That is a good thing,” he said.
The Sevens gaffer is said to have already submitted his 2020 Sevens’ programme, with the short-term goal being the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.
“Olympic qualification remains the ultimate goal, but for now we are just going to take it one tournament at a time. The two legs of the Sevens Challenger Series are first. We have already sent out word to the provinces to begin streamlining their players.
“We will have trials early February. The goal is to introduce as many new guys as possible into the Sevens’ squad, and then travel to Chile and Uruguay.
“With the two legs of the Sevens’ Challenger Series, and the Hong Kong Sevens series itself, we should have enough game time to make an impact at the Repechage tournament and hopefully qualify for the Olympics,” he said.