ZAMBIAN Champions Red Arrows Rugby Club, who finished third at the just-ended Zambezi Challenge, won many hearts with their brand of running rugby.
It was not hard to see Prosper Mubayiwa’s finger point in how Red Arrows played.
Zambian rugby is dominated by contact-loving structures, but the AirWolves, as they are affectionately known, gained new fans through their balanced contact and ball movement.
Mubayiwa, who revolutionalised school girl and women’s rugby with his Goromonzi High School, joined Arrows in January as Assistant Coach to Mwamba Chishimba.
The AirWolves were a dark horse going into the tournament, Zimbabwe Cheetahs being the favourites.
AirWolves clashed with the visiting German national side, who took an early 10-00 lead in the first half before the Zambia Airforce-sponsored side regrouped and delivered punch for a punch to the Germans.
They clawed back into the match with two tries, one of which was successfully converted to take a 12-10 lead with about three minutes to go to full-time.
However, Arrows’ defence went to sleep, and the Germans scored a try in the dying seconds of the game to score their winning try.
The final score was 15-12 for the Germans.
Such was the intensity of the games at the Zambezi Challenge. Every game felt like a final as the Airmen were up against their local rival, KPF, who came second in the Zambian National League.
The Airmen’s frustration and anger at losing to Germany were visible as they turned the game into a one-sided affair, punching holes everywhere in KPF’s defence to win the match 26-7.
The second day started with the Airmen opening the event against a very ambitious Cheetahs Academy side full of energy and pace.
The Airmen were quick to stamp their authority through two quick tries, rattling the young boys who started making mistake after mistake, much to the delight of Red Arrows, who gladly capitalised on that.
The final score was 31-07 to Red Arrows.
The win against Cheetahs Academy meant that the Airmen had set a semi-final date with the cup favourites, the Cheetahs Senior side.
It was a well-balanced game in the eyes of many despite the Cheetahs being dominated in defence by the Airmen through solid defence structures and tackle management.
The second half saw the game’s intensity increase, with both teams exchanging blow for blow and keeping the fans on the edge of their seats.
Like the Germany game, the Red Arrows’ defence had a momentary lapse of concentration and the Cheetahs scrapped through to the last-minute try to salvage a 15-12 over the Airmen.
The result meant the Airmen were to play for a third-place playoff against another tournament favourite, Spartans from Botswana.
The game did not fall short of a final in its own right, as the two sides fought for pride and bragging rights.
Spartans were on a mission to redeem themselves as they recently lost to Red Arrows a fortnight ago in Lusaka.
The game was tied 12-12 until the very last seconds when Arrows got a penalty and dropped kicked for posts winning with a 15-12 scoreline.
Speaking to EnterSportNews after the match, Mubayiwa expressed satisfaction with how the team acquainted themselves.
“I am pleased with my team’s progress, and with a bit of luck, we could have played in the final and from there, who knows what could have happened?”
When asked about the visible footprints all over Red Arrows’ defensive and attacking patterns, he was modest and paid tribute to the technical team.
“Obviously, when I joined Arrows, I brought with me one or two things but to give me all the credit for how the team played during the tournament would not be fair on my technical team,” said Mubayiwa.
“What you saw from our team during this tournament is a collective effort from everyone at Arrows. I am just a small cog in what we want to achieve at Red Arrows.”
