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Brandon Moyo, [email protected]

A BIG job lies ahead for the Zimbabwe senior men’s national rugby team as they face Southern African neighbours and old foes Namibia in the semi-final match of the 2024 Rugby Africa Cup at the Mutesa II Stadium in Kampala, Uganda today.
The Sables booked their spot in the semi-final of the continental showdown after holding on to beat Uganda 20-22 on Saturday to set up a tricky test against pre-tournament favourites and defending champions, the Welwitschias.
Sables head coach Piet Benade is wary of the threat that the Welwitschias pose with the experience they garnered playing in the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. In an interview with online publication SportsCast in Kampala, Benade believes that their opponents have had more exposure to Tests and that would slightly put them ahead.
However, he is confident that will be playing in the finals on Sunday.
“Only months ago they (Namibia) were playing the likes of the All Blacks and France in a World Cup, so they are well prepared and battle hardened at this level. So it will be a big job to match their intensity and accuracy at Test level. However, we are confident we can put on a good show against our regional rivals and mount a tough fight for a spot in the final,” said Benade.
He also expects a game of set-pieces and discipline.
The ongoing Rugby Africa Cup serves as the first step towards qualification for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia and Zimbabwe’ opponents today have enjoyed good success in the tournament, being the only side to qualify from the tournament since 1999. Namibia beat Kenya in the previous event to win the tournament a record nine time.
The Sables have only won the continental championship once and will be hoping to book their first ticket to the global showpiece since 1991.
A win for the Sables against the Welwitschias will see them face the winner of the other semi-final between Kenya and Algeria. In case of a defeat, it will not be the end of the road as they will play in the third/fourth place play-off match against the loser of the other semi-final.
In their opening match against the hosts, Uganda on Saturday, Benade’s men survived a second-half onslaught to hang on for a hard fought victory.
The Sables went into the half time break with a comfortable 0-22 lead before Uganda came back a different side in the second-half, scoring 20, however, the Sables managed to hold their nerves.
Zimbabwe scored three tries in the first-half. Edward Sigauke, Takudzwa Musingwini and Takudzwa Mashawi were the three players who managed to put the ball across the try-line to give the Sables a comfortable 22 point lead by half-time.
Namibia walloped Burkina Faso 38-5 in their quarter final encounter.
Tomorrow’s game is scheduled to start at 4pm and will be available for livestreaming on the Rugby Africa Facebook and YouTube platforms as well as Rugby Pass TV.

@brandon_malvin