It’s do-or-die for Sables Peter De Villiers

Petros Kausiyo in KAMPALA, Uganda
AS  Zimbabwe plunge into their “Operation Survival” battle against Uganda in a Rugby Gold Cup tie at Kyadondo Rugby Club here today, captain Denford Mutamangira has rallied his Sables to just emerge victorious “no matter how pretty or ugly,” they play.

Mutamangira knows he could be remembered as the captain who led the Sables into the less fashionable Silver Group, should the senior side fail to survive the chop, in a relegation puzzle that also features North African sides Tunisia and basement team Morocco.

Yet the 34-year-old prop, who was retained as captain of the ship when Peter De Villiers took over earlier in the year, insists that demotion is not a statistic that their coach, Zimbabwe Rugby Union president Aaron Jani, the players and the nation are ready to accept.

The Sables flew into Uganda on Tuesday.

A win for the Sables would render the outcome of the other relegation battle Tunisia and Morocco irrelevant to their status as one of the North African would then go down.

“It has become the most important game of our campaign and also it being the last game it comes when we haven’t got any win so it’s very, very important for us to make sure that we avoid relegation by all means.

“That has been the theme this whole week, to avoid relegation, but it’s a process so we said to ourselves tomorrow we need a good start, whatever we do we need a good start, we have to play well from the beginning.

“That’s what we have been working on. We have also said we need to cut down on our errors and to make sure that we execute our primary roles 100 percent to avoid a slow start.”

Mutamangira said the desire to win had added the pressure.

“There is definitely pressure and we can’t hide it but we just have to make sure that we handle it in a calm way, in relaxed but aggressive way, we want to make our intentions straight in the first minutes of the game.

“It is something that we have been emphasising on as well, whatever it takes, we need to get that W (win) after 80 minutes.”

De Villiers has had to make some adjustments to the side that played against Namibia with the pair of Hilton and Farai Mudariki ruled out due to club commitments.

The Sables coach has also thrust Lenience Tambwera back at flyhalf with the Harare Sports Club man set to earn his 33rd cap today.

German-based forward Antipas Kamkwindo also gets a start and will be capped for the fifth time.

“We have worked a lot on their heads this week. Everybody has pressure whether from your families or from yourselves but it’s the added pressure that comes with events on the pitch,’’ said the coach.

“We are going into this game with a difference . . . we have worked so much on our psychology. Uganda is not a bad team in a sense . . . they are not very organised.

“But if you make mistakes against them they will punish you, they feed on your mistakes in the turnover ball.

“If we can keep the ball well for longer periods then it is going to be a long day for them but if we are going to lose the ball then it is going to be a long day for us.”

 

Team:

 

Zimbabwe: Denford Mutamangira, Mathew Mandioma, Lawrence Cleminson, Antipas Kamkwindo, Fortune Chipendu, Brian Nyaude, Connor Pritchard, Tapfuma Parirenyatwa, Ernest Mudzengerere, Lenience Tambwera, Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, Brendon Mandivenga, Tafadzwa Mhende, Shayne Makombe, Shingi Katsvere.

Replacements: David Makanda, Cleopas Kundiona, Kudakwashe Nyakufaringwa, Takudzwa Mandiwanza, Jeremiah Jaravaza, Takudzwa Kumadiro, Mathew McNab.

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