Zimbabwe Sables Head Coach Brendon Dawson has named his squad that will play against Namibia in the Rugby Africa Cup semi-final slated for Wednesday 6 July 2022 in France.
Dawson captained the Sables to their last 27-26 win over the Namibians in 2001 and is keen to lead the side to the first Rugby World Cup since 1991. Tyran Fagan, Mathew Mandioma, and Cleophas Kundiona lead the pack in the front row.
Sean Beevor and Godfrey Muzanargwo have been handed starts in the second row and Jason Fraser, Tapiwa Tsomondo, and Nyasha Tarusenga are in the back row.
Skipper Hilton Mudariki, and fly-half Marcus Nel retain their slots while Takudzwa Cheiza, Mathew McNab will partner in the midfield. Shingirai Katsvere, Shayne Makombe, and Tapiwa Mafura for the back three.
“We want to come back to the World Cup,” Dawson told World Rugby. “It’s a little bit psychological, I think, with some of the guys.
“But I think the performance against the Netherlands, beating a 26th ranked team and doing well against Ivory Coast and doing well in the last two games that we played in the Currie Cup, shows that the guys can do it.
“They’ve got the ability, but it just comes down to confidence and I think they’ve really built on that nicely now.”
“We’ve got to make sure that we can play for 80 minutes and play at the same pace and the same tempo that we do for 80 minutes,” Dawson added.
“Obviously, your impact players that come on have got to really lift the standard and make sure that they carry that on through from where we started to where we finish.
“I really believe that if we can maintain that for 80 minutes, I think we’re going to be in the pole seat to hopefully win the game.”
Zimbabwe Sables: 1.Tyran Fagan, 2. Mathew Mandioma, 3. Cleophas Kundiona, 4. Sean Beevor, 5. Godfrey Muzanargwo, 6. Jason Fraser, 7. Tapiwa Tsomondo, 8. Nyasha Tarusenga, 9. Hilton Mudariki, 10. Marcus Nel 11. Shingirai Katsvere, 12. Takudzwa Cheiza, 13. Mathew McNab 14. Shayne Makombe, 15 Tapiwa Mafura
Replacements: 16. Liam Larkan, 17. Victor Mupunga, 18. Bornwell Gwinji, 19. Godwin Mangenje,20. Kelvin Kanenungo, 21. Kyle Galloway, 22 Takudzwa Musingwini, 23 Chibuwe Ngoni
