It’s do-or-die for Sables
READY TO RUMBLE . . . Sables forwards (from left) Keith Murray (ball in hand), Pieter Joubert, Mathew Mandioma and lock Jan Ferreira (No. 4) go through their final paces yesterday at Locomotive Stadium as they prepare for hosts Russia in a World Cup play-off qualifier in Siberia today

READY TO RUMBLE . . . Sables forwards (from left) Keith Murray (ball in hand), Pieter Joubert, Mathew Mandioma and lock Jan Ferreira (No. 4) go through their final paces yesterday at Locomotive Stadium as they prepare for hosts Russia in a World Cup play-off qualifier in Siberia today

Paul Munyuki Sports Reporter
THE battle lines have been drawn and today the Sables take on Russia in a make-or-break Rugby World Cup qualifier and captain Daniel Hondo doesn’t want his charges to retreat or surrender in their grand mission to qualify for England.
The Sables have their focus only on taking on Russia in front of their home crowd at the Central Stadium in the rugby-mad Siberian town of Krasnoyarsk and Hondo feels they have put in too much to let themselves down now.

The Harare Sports Club centre told the media yesterday of how dedicated they were to give their all and cause an upset against the Russians who are ranked five places above the Sables on the current International Rugby Board World Rankings.

“We came here (to Moscow), travelling halfway across the world, trained for three days in the rain and now we are ready to show the best of African rugby.
“Of course, the Russian team is strong and we respect them, but tomorrow when we get into confrontation mode on the field that respect disappears,” said the captain.
Centre Riaan O’Neill added: “I’m surprised at how much your city loves rugby. You have good infrastructure, good pitches and good rugby facilities.

“I look forward to the most important part which is the match and meeting with Russian athletes who play in this atmosphere”. Zimbabwe have been in Siberia for the last seven days getting used to the conditions in Russia.

The last time Zimbabwe played the European side they were still called Soviet Union and this was on June 28 1987 in Harare at the Police Grounds.
Zimbabwe were 18-9 victors, their first victory having come in their first meeting on June 1 1986 at the Hartfield Rugby Grounds.

However, in between, the two sides met twice and it was the visitors who won both matches, starting with a 31-9 thrashing of Zimbabwe before a close 16-12 loss for the Sables.

But this is the first time Zimbabwe have travelled to Siberia to take on Russia when it matters most as both teams need to win the game if they are to be among the best rugby playing nations in the world come 2015.

Sables coach Brendan Dawson feels his boys are motivated.
“Our training sessions have been special because the players are really focused, training is going on well because our concentration levels are high.

“We are having light training sessions in the morning and more intensive sessions in the afternoon and I am happy with how things are going at the moment.
“The weather is great for us so far, we have had our fair share of challenges but we just have to soldier on.

“It is every player’s dream to play at the World Cup and we will have to make it.
“The greatest motivation we have is qualifying for the World Cup itself, nothing beats that if you are a rugby player,” said Dawson.

But the Russians will not give it away easily — if at all they are going to do so — as they have promised a tough battle in the play-off and they are backed not only by their home crowd but also their Government.

Alexander Voitov, the Russia captain, also paid tribute to Zimbabwe.
“We looked at record of performance of Zimbabwe and I am willing to admit that they are a very serious contender.

“They have several high-profile players and, for us, it will be a very serious match. But so serious it will be for them as well.
“Well, both teams are ready to fight, the emotions of both teams are high and it’s all left to tomorrow’s meeting . . . but we can only wait and hope,” said Voitov.

Acting Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy in Russia Sergey Alekseev said they have done everything possible to make this dream come true.
“From our side we did everything to make sure that they are comfortable during their preparation.”

Sables XV
Forwards: Pieter Joubert, Keith Murray, Kevin Nqindi, Jan Ferreira, Sanele Sibanda, Graeme Lawler, Jacques Leitao, Lambert Groenewald,
Backs: Hilton Mudariki, Guy Cronje, Tafadzwa Chitokwindo,: Daniel Hondo (captain), Riaan O’Neill, Shayne Makombe, Danny Robertson
Substitutes: Lawrence Cleminson, Matthew Mandioma, Farai Mudariki, Fortune Chipendu, Kingsley Lang, Takunda Chifokoyo, Stephan Hunduza, Peter Du Toit, Lenience Tambwera,

Russia XV
Forwards: Gregory Tsnobiladze, Valery Tsnobiladze, Andrew Igrets, Alexander Voitov, Andrei Ostrikov, Andrei Garbuzov, Andrew Darker, Victor Gresev,
Backs:  Alexander Yanyushkin, Yury Kushnarev, Denis Simplikevich, Alexey Makovetskii, Vasily Artemyev, Mikhail Babaev, Igor Kluchnikov.
Substitutes: Stanislav Rural, Innocent Zykov, Artem Fatakhov, Paul Butenko, Alexey Shcherban, Igor Galinovskii, Ramil Gysin.

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