Namibia (7) 31 Zimbabwe (23) 26
The Zimbabwe rugby team let slip a 16-point first half lead to lose a gripping Gold Cup Group 1A encounter against Namibia in a heartbreaking manner at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek yesterday.
By Staff Reporter
After scoring two converted tries and three penalties in a dominant first half, the Sables could not contain the hosts’ fire power as they ran in four unanswered tries to claim an unlikely win and remain top of the Gold Cup standings.
Zimbabwe could only add three points to their first half tally with Tichafara Makwanya coming good in all four kicks in the match.
As has always been the case in many of their crucial fixtures, the Sables ran out of steam in the second half.
Captain Denford Mutamangira was, however, pleased with the teams’ performance ahead of next weeks’ home tie against Kenya.
“I am very proud of the boys because today we played like we really wanted to win. We lost a couple of line outs and they capitalised. But we look forward to the next match against Kenya and we can’t afford to slip up against them,” he said after the match.
