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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter

THE Zimbabwe national rugby women’s Sevens side, the Lady Cheetahs, are hoping for an improved showing when they take part in the three-day annual Kenya Safari Sevens tournament at the RFUEA Stadium from October 14.

The Lady Cheetahs have failed to make a huge statement in the previous editions of the jamboree.

But, they are hoping for better fortunes this time around.

A squad of 20 players, which will be trimmed to 12 just before the team fly to Nairobi, is in camp under the tutelage of coach Abraham Rwodzi.

The latter said his team lack game-time but he is excited with the passion and enthusiasm they are displaying.

He said they are working to perfect restarts and possession retention.

“We have selected a squad of 20 players because we are thinking beyond this year’s competition. Preparations are not where they should, we are missing game fitness because there are no friendly games before the tournament. We would have wanted to see them as regularly as possible.

“The eagerness to learn and improve within the players is there, but the fitness and skill levels are not where they should be but we are working very hard to bring them to the desired levels.

“We are paying attention to restarts more because in 7s nowadays, the team that wins three quarters of restarts will be in a good position to win the match and also keeping the ball for four minutes each half will definitely contribute more to win matches,” said Rwodzi.

“We will wait for the very last moment to pick our final team as it is important we get the right combinations.

“The last time we selected a pretty much inexperienced squad to give exposure to as many players. The players held their own and showed lots of potential. The ladies pool was only attended by three teams and game time was all we wanted. No teams were seeded.

“We are on the road again and using this tournament to set the foundation for a busy 2023. I am hoping to develop a strong team to compete in the bigger tournaments in the future. We want to use this tournament to gauge ourselves against the best in Africa. Then, only then, can we set new and fresh targets. If we do things right, we should be able to bring positive results.”

Some of the teams expected to participate in Kenya include the hosts Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia as well as several franchises from South Africa among others.

Team manager Vivien Manuel expressed confidence the Lady Cheetahs will do well in Kenya.

She said the team will also participate at the Great Lakes tour in Uganda next month.