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CALM BEFORE THE STORM . . . Some of the players and officials who attended the media conference yesterday ahead of the start of the Sevens tournament in Harare today

Paul Munyuki Sports Reporter
PRINCE EDWARD School will burst into life this morning when the explosive Confederation of Africa Cup Seven tournament kicks off, with Zimbabwe drawn in the same pool as World Series side Kenya.The East Africans and South Africa’s Blitzbokke are the only two sides that take part in the International Rugby Board World Sevens Series and pose a great threat to Zimbabwe’s title defence, but this is a challenge the hosts are looking forward to.

The Cheetahs have been drawn in Pool A, where they will take on Nigeria first at 9am today, before facing Kenya, Uganda and Cote d’Ivoire.
Zimbabwe were last in action eight months ago in the Hong Kong leg of the World Sevens Series that was being used as a core membership qualifier, while Kenya and South Africa are already playing on the international circuit.

However, according to Cheetahs scrummy Graham Kaulback, there is no excuse for Zimbabwe going into this tournament, as they have prepared well and are ready for the battle which is being used to select the African team for the Hong Kong World Series qualifier next year.

“I believe in very one of the individuals that are in the Cheetahs set-up, from the coach to the players, and we have had great preparations for this tournament, which we had always known would come. We had excellent preparations at Innovate under Grant Mitchell.

“This is not the time to be making excuses; we believe in ourselves and I know we will do well despite the limited financial resources we have as a country. We are not the only country that is faced with limitations.

“At the end of the day, results are what we need as players, as a country and for the good of the local game because, ultimately, we need to make it to Hong Kong,” said Kaulback.

The Old Georgians Sports Club backliner is making a return to the Cheetahs fold after almost two years without donning the Sevens jersey following a freak injury during a national team training session that ruled him out of the game for the last 22 months.

But he says he has been working hard off the field, in the gym, and this is what has made him shrug off the challenge of many others and reclaim his place among the 12 best Sevens players coach Gilbert “Gidza” Nyamutsamba felt were good enough to do duty this weekend.

“There is no better way of marking a return to the top flight rugby on the international scene than playing in front of our home crowd, in a continental showpiece . . .it’s a humbling experience because of the hard work I have put up during my rehabilitation and when I was able to walk again.

“I am happy because this shows that I am able to add value to the Zimbabwe team,” added Kaulback.

However, he feels Zimbabwe should not be complacent against any team, nor should they over-rate any of the teams they will face today and tomorrow.

“This is a big opportunity for us to show what we can do against Kenya and South Africa who are the (so-called) Big Guns in the tournament and we can also use this chance to measure where we stand against them.

“We will give our best for the country and we will also have to take a humble approach against other teams as well because we never know what they could bring against us; so, it’s all about taking it game by game.”