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Mbachi Mutukula-Maregere and Mehluli Sibanda
ZIMBABWE Cheetahs coach Gilbert Nyamutsamba wants to see improvements from his men at the HSBC Sevens World Series in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, this weekend.

Speedster Kudakwashe Chiwanza is one of the new additions to the team.

“We are going into this tournament looking to improve from where we left off in the Africa Cup and, most importantly, we want exposure for our junior players,” said Nyamutsamba.

“We want to get a step better at this tournament.

“All is well and the team’s training was impressive yesterday and we hope the team will learn at this tournament.”

The Zimbabwe Cheetahs have been thrown into a tough Pool B where they will take on Australia, Argentina and Portugal.

The Cheetahs are not intimidated by the fact that they are the only non core member participating in the South African leg of the HSCBC Sevens World Series. Cheetahs coach, Gilbert Nyamutsamba, said he has all the faith in his team.

“I am a coach who totally believes in his team, no matter who we are playing.

“I send my boys with the belief of playing well and wanting to win, odds are against us.

“All the teams at this tournament are rated way above us,’’ said Nyamutsamba.

On whether they are targeting any of the teams in their pool, Nyamutsamba said they will aim to overcome all of their opposition at the group stage.

The expectations for the Cheetahs, Nyamutsamba said, was to correct the mistakes they made at the recently held Confederation of African Rugby Africa Cup at Prince Edward High School where Zimbabwe finished third.

“We want to polish on a few key areas from the last tournament but, most importantly, to give all our junior players the much needed exposure of top-flight Sevens rugby.

“The team is made up of fairly young players,’’ Nyamutsamba said.

Zimbabwe play all their pool matches on Saturday, the first encounter against Argentina at 11:36, the second against Australia at 14:30 and their last against Portugal at 17:48.

Depending on their performance in these three matches, Zimbabwe will proceed to the quarter-finals of the Cup, Plate, Bowl or Shield.

Zimbabwe Cheetahs

Jacques Leitao(captain), Fortune Chipendu, Gardner Nechironga, Stephan Hunduza, Hilton Mudariki, Njabulo Ndlovu, Boyd Rouse, Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, Kudakwashe Chiwanza, Shayne Makombe, Wesley Mbanje, Kilvan Magunje.

Head Coach: Gilbert Nyamutsamba

Assistant Coach: Daniel Hondo

Team Manager: Steve McDonald.