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Ellina Mhlanga-Senior Sports Reporter 

THE Zimbabwe senior netball team coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki says there are several areas they need to improve ahead of the World Cup qualifiers after coming second at the Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Associations (COSANA) Tri-Nations Cup in Blantyre, Malawi.

Namibia, Zimbabwe and hosts Malawi took part in the event that featured senior and Under-19 teams from the three countries.

The five-day competition ended on Thursday.  Malawi, ranked seventh in the world, outclassed their opponents, winning all matches against 13th ranked Zimbabwe and Namibia, who are ranked number 22. The hosts were the overall winners. 

Zimbabwe were second after winning two games against Namibia. 

They lost three to Malawi and once to Malawi. Namibia with just one win from six games finished third. 

Although the Gems were placed second, the number of games they lost compared to those they won is a concern.

Mutsauki admitted Malawi are a better side as they continued with their dominance on their counterparts from the region.

“I think we have a lot that we have learnt from participating and losing some of the games. 

“We need to work on our defence, we need a tall defender, who can also adjust according to instructions because the players we have are short… So height is a disadvantage for our defence.

“But we will keep looking until we get the team we want, that’s our aim, to have a strong team by August. 

“Playing teams like Malawi it’s a blessing in disguise, that’s where we get the opportunity to adjust our team and pick the right players,” said Mutsauki.

Ropafadzo Mutsauki

The African countries to converge in South Africa, in August, for the World Cup qualifiers, will be competing for two remaining slots.

South Africa qualified by virtue of being hosts for next year’s World Cup and Uganda earned their ticket because of their ranking. Namibia and Malawi are some of the countries the Gems will face at the qualifiers and they are aware of the task ahead if they are to book their place at next year’s World Cup. 

Mutsauki said a win against Malawi during the COSANA Tri-nations would have boosted their confidence. 

But he remains positive of their preparations and is hoping their expected tour of the United Kingdom next month will be helpful in addressing some of the concerns. 

“If we had won one of the games against Malawi it would have boosted our confidence. But right now after losing all the games against Malawi, we have a lot of work to do even the fitness level of our players still needs to improve. 

“We still have two months. We can come up with a very good team. If we can have a stronger team when we go to the UK it will also help. 

“The door is still open, we still need players. If we get any players interested and deserving, we will bring them in because that competition amongst the players makes it possible for us to come up with the best team,” Mutsauki said. 

The Gems coach said they also need more time in camp with the players ahead of the tour, having had just a few days with the team before they left for Malawi.

On the other hand, the Under-19 team coached by Simbarashe Mlambo emerged gold medallists at the same tournament. 

For Zimbabwe, the Under-19s had the best performance managing to win three of their four matches. They completed a double over Namibia and beat Malawi in their first meeting. 

They then lost 36-37 to Malawi in their last encounter on Thursday. But their performance in the other three matches was good enough to earn them the top spot at the tournament. 

“I think we need a bit of more depth as far as defence is concerned and a bit of resilience in attack because I felt we could have done better as far as the defence was concerned and all that. 

“But so far so good, I like where we are going with the team. They are still young, can be easily manipulated and moulded into whatever you want, so we will capitalise on that.

“I think we really need to work on our co-ordination and endurance and agility and what could really help us would be to have another camp. Another two weeks or three weeks’ camp, it will do very well for us. But so far, so good,” said Mlambo. 

The Under-19s are preparing for the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region Five Under-20 Youth Games to be staged in Malawi, in December.