THE Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) has extended invitations to two international teams ahead of the second edition of the Kwesé Sports Victoria Falls Sevens as they pull all the stops to ensure the Zambezi Cheetahs have adequate preparations for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens finals.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The second edition of the Kwesé Sports Victoria Falls Sevens will take place from March 24-25 in the resort town of Victoria Falls and the Zambezi Cheetahs technical team will use the two-day event to assess their players ahead of busy schedules headlined by the global showcase in the United States in July.
More importantly for the Zambezi Cheetahs is the fact that the Kwesé Sports Victoria Falls Sevens will be held less than two weeks before the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series core-team qualifying tournament at the Hong Kong Sevens from April 6–8. And while the lineup of the participating teams is yet to be finalised, Standardsport understands that ZRU has invited France and Hong Kong in a bid to add some international flavour to the tournament.
France, who qualified for the Rugby World Cup Sevens by virtue of being a core team on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, have expressed interest in making the trip to the resort town as the tournament will not clash with their World Series schedule. Hong Kong on the other hand last toured Zimbabwe in 2013 and 2014 and are eager to use the tournament to prepare for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series qualifying tournament, which they will host two weeks later.
Continental heavyweights Kenya are also expected to send a team for the tournament while other African teams that are expected to participate include Africa Sevens champions Uganda, Zambia, Swaziland, Morocco and Senegal.
The Zambezi Cheetahs started their preparations for the season last Sunday with a 30-man squad attending the first of the scheduled four training camps for this season at Harare Sports Club.
Zambezi Cheetahs head coach Gilbert Nyamutsamba has planned a similar camp in Bulawayo before the Cheetahs shift a gear up by taking their preparations to South Africa next month.
