WINDHOEK - Fatigue took its toll as the Zimbabwe Sevens Rugby team lost heavily to South Africa in the inaugural Namibia Sevens final last week.The Boks deservedly won the preseason showcase 61-14 in this final played in Windhoek . Emotionally and physically spent, the Zimbabweans struggled to cope with the full-time Boks but the overall level of competition was another strong indicator ahead of the upcoming World Series.
Boks Sevens coach Paul Treu , who spoke highly of the Zimbabwean team, said his team would keep on working hard to maintain its number one status. People talk about the pressure of being the defending Series champions, the world number one side, and I do think it is going to be a bit difficult. But it’s something that the players have to get used to, it’s not going to go away. If you want to be the number one team in the world, you have to keep playing up to your own standards, he said after the game.
Meanwhile, on day one, while Fiji, Samoa and Argentina all suffered scares against Spain , Portugal and Zimbabwe , the Boks topped their pool with wins against Namibia and Tunisia . Fiji struggled to beat Spain 14-10, Argentina drew 19-19 against Zimbabwe and Portugal gave the tournament its first shock by beating Samoa 19-14. On the final day of competition, Zimbabwe took up the challenge and also overcame Samoa to reach the semi finals along with Fiji, South Africa and Argentina .
South Africa dominated the Fijians, Ryno Benjamin firing them to a convincing 28-0 win, but it was the other semi which produced the tournament’s most resounding shock. Sparked to life by their 19-19 draw against Zimbabwe on day one, the organised Argentineans came out hard and took a 14-0 lead. However, Zimbabwe, who have impressed in recent years on the World Series, hit back fearlessly to draw level before Gardiner Nechironga’s try set up an all-African final with the last play of the match.
The tournament was sufficient preparation for the World Sevens series which begin next week.
Post published in: Rugby