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Ronald Mashinga, Sports Reporter

THE Zimbabwe women’s Sevens national team are ready for the Africa Women’s Sevens tournament which kicks off in Tunisia tomorrow.

The tournament is a continental championship for women’s Rugby Sevens in Africa. The Lady Cheetahs as they are commonly known will square off against some of Africa’s finest talents in Group B that has South Africa, Zambia and Uganda.

“The preparations have gone on well. I think the ladies are ready to play and we promise to do our best,” said Lady Cheetahs coach Derek Chiwara.

The team will be led by Precious Marange as she is the most experienced player out of the lot and is confident that she will lead the team to a good outing in Tunisia.

In last year’s edition, Zimbabwe finished in fifth place as they beat Senegal 19-5 in Gaborone, Botswana. Kenya won the tournament comfortably beating Uganda 29-7.

This year’s event is serving as a direct qualification of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

Under the umbrella of Rugby Africa, it is the second time they host the Olympic qualifying events on the continent since Rugby Sevens debuted at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016. All matches will be played at the Mustapha Ben Jannet Stadium in Monastir.

Fixtures and times (Zimbabwean times)

Pool A: Senegal v Botswana (10:28 AM), Kenya v Ghana (10:50 AM), Senegal v Ghana (13:04 PM), Kenya v Botswana (13:26 PM), Botswana v Ghana (15:38 PM), Kenya v Senegal (16:00 PM).

Pool B: Zimbabwe v Zambia (09:44 AM), Uganda v South Africa (10:06 AM), Zimbabwe v South Africa (12:20 PM), Uganda v Zambia (12:42 PM), Zambia v South Africa (14:54 PM), Uganda v Zimbabwe (15:16 PM).

Pool C: Madagascar v Morocco (09:00 AM), Tunisia v Mauritius (09:22 AM), Madagascar v Mauritius (11:36 AM), Tunisia v Morocco (11:58 AM), Morocco v Mauritius 14:10 PM), Tunisia v Madagascar (14:32 PM).