Last weekend, 5000 miles away from our UK headquarters at Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe, the Cheetahs hosted the 2023 Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens Cup. With the winner of the tournament being granted a place in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, there was a lot on the line.
The Cheetahs started off the competition on day one with matches against Burkina Faso, Algeria and Uganda. Burkina Faso were a worthy opening opponent, with the game ending in a deadlock score of 12-12 for the first game of the competition.
This was to be, however, the only draw of the day as the Cheetahs faced Algeria. Zimbabwe quickly broke the deadlock and continued to dominate the game, ending with a resounding 47-5 win.
Finally on Day 1, Zimbabwe were set to face the defending champions Uganda in the last match of day one. With a rocking Harare Sports Club motivating the Cheetahs, Zimbabwe capitalised on the mistakes of Uganda by scoring tries in quick succession. The Cheetahs continued to dominate the game and punish Uganda as they struggled to break down a resilient Cheetah’s side. Zimbabwe would run out 35-5 victors on this occasion, but there was more to come from this fixture in Day Two.
Two wins and a draw gifted Zimbabwe top of Group C going into Day Two, qualifying for the quarter-finals of the competition.
Zimbabwe’s fine form continued into day two of the 2023 Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens Cup as the Cheetahs brushed aside Madagascar 26-10 in the quarter finals, setting up an encounter with the elite stars of Kenya in the Semi-Finals.
Two early tries from Kenya was an immediate setback for the Cheetahs against the much fancied Kenyans. The Cheetahs did strike back with tries from Ryan Musumhi and Brandon Mudekenyedzi, but it was all in vain Kenya added two more tries to their tally early in the second half. A 35-10 defeat resulted in the Cheetahs once again facing Uganda in the third-place playoff, still with a shot at Qualification for Paris 2024.
The Cheetahs faced Uganda for the second time in the competition after their dominant 35-5 victory the previous day, and despite the Cheetahs adding to their points tally first, Uganda fought back and led at half-time. Despite a converted try, the Cheetahs couldn’t close the points deficit with the game finishing 24-12 in Uganda’s favour, subsequently claiming third place and moving through to the Continental playoff.
The biggest winners of the tournament, however, were the Kenyans as they qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after beating South Africa 17-12 in the final of the competition.
South Africa and Uganda will join 2nd & 3rd placed teams from Asia, Europe, Oceania, North America and South America in the final qualification competition for the 12th and final slot at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Scimitar are proud to be the official kit partner of the Zimbabwe Cheetahs and are delighted to be working alongside the Zimbabwe team to develop rugby within the African region on the sevens circuit. A big shout out here to our African franchise Scimitar Africa.
Love rugby? Don’t forget to follow our brand-new rugby social account for all the latest results, competitions, media, news and much more!
Links:
Photo Credits:
Denise_Namale
