A further five players will be added to the squad, but the Zimbabwe Rugby Union is waiting to finalise the availability of players from their foreign clubs.
The squad will be reduced to a travelling team of 26 for the Rugby World Cup qualifiers. The Sables will prepare for the tournament with games in South Africa and a camp in Harare before departure to Madagascar.
Most of the regular players like Fortune Chipendu, Jan and Schalk Ferreira, Pieter Joubert, Jacques Leitao, Tangai Nemadire, Gardner Nechironga, Kevin Ngidi, Tapiwa Mangezi, Daniel Hondo, Stephen Hunduza and Keith Murray were all called up.
Also part of the team were the likes of Mathew Mandiona, Njabulo Ndlovu, Sunile Sibanda, Denford Mutangira, Royal Mwale, Tafadzwa Chitongwindo and Rian O’Neal.
At the RWC Qualifiers, the Sables will face Kenya, Madagascar and Namibia. A first-place finish in the round-robin tournament would mean Zimbabwe Rugby would qualify for the 2015 World Cup in England.
A runner-up position would see the team go to another qualification opportunity through another process. Successful qualification for Rugby’s most prolific tournament would be historic for Zimbabwe, who last competed in the tournament in 1991.
Ironically, coach of the side, Brendan Dawson, represented Zimbabwe at that 1991 World Cup. The Sables also qualified for the World Cup in 1987, but have of late struggled to make the trip.
Post published in: Rugby