ZIMBABWE Rugby Union (ZRU) has settled for Victoria Falls Primary School as the venue for the inaugural Kwesé Sports Victoria Falls Sevens tournament which will be played in the resort town from March 18 to 19.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The decision on the venue for the high-profile Sevens rugby tournament was made on Wednesday following consultations by all the stakeholders in the resort town, while the Elephant Hills Driving Range is being earmarked as the future home of the tournament.
ZRU boss Nyararai Sibanda told Standardsport in an interview on Friday that they had finally settled for Victoria Falls Primary School as the venue for the tournament, with the participating teams expected to use Elephant Hills Driving Range for their practice sessions.
“I can confirm that the first edition of the Kwesé Sports Victoria Falls Sevens will be played at Victoria Falls Primary School. We also agreed that the teams would be using the Elephant Hills Driving Range as the training ground, which makes sense since all the teams will be staying at the hotel,” he said.
Sibanda said preparations for the inaugural Kwesé Sports Victoria Falls Sevens tourney were at an advanced stage, with five of the eight teams expected to take part having confirmed participation by yesterday.
“So far the preparations have gone according to plan and we will soon be announcing a programme of activities in the lead up to the event which will include another launch in Victoria Falls to raise awareness about the tournament,” he said.
Hosts Zimbabwe and last year’s Africa Cup Sevens losing finalists Namibia are expected to headline an eight-team line up which includes up and coming African teams such as Zambia and Botswana.
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Minnows Sierra Leone and Lesotho had also confirmed by yesterday, while ZRU is still in discussions with continental giants Kenya, Uganda as well as Nigeria and Ghana.
Kenya are, however, likely to send their second string side due to commitments of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
The Kwesé Sports Victoria Falls Sevens tournament is expected to provide Cheetahs coach Gilbert Nyamutsamba with an opportunity to build a new player base in preparation for this year’s Africa Sevens Cup.
This year’s Africa Sevens Cup which will be played in November will serve as a continental qualifier for next year’s Sevens Rugby World Cup to be hosted by the United States of America.
