ZIMBABWE Men’s Sevens coach, Ricky Chirengende saluted the fans who supported the team during the just- ended Paramount Garments Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens Tournament despite missing out on a spot at the Paris, 2024 Olympics.
The Zambezi Cheetahs lost to eventual champions Kenya in the semi-final.
With Olympics out of their reach, the Zambezi Cheetahs needed to win the third place play-off and book a place in the Challenger Series which allows teams to challenge for a place in the HSBC Sevens circuit.
The Cheetahs walloped Uganda 35-5 to top Pool C.
With both teams out of Olympics reckoning, their third place play-off was a grudge match and lived up to that billing.
Uganda brought a strong contingent of supporters who added a lot of colour with their singing and dancing.
The Zimbawe fans created a great atmosphere next to the stand housing the East African fans.
Uganda eventually prevailed over the hosts 24-12, avenging their pool match defeat and clinching third place.
“The fans were absolutely awesome, they were our 13th man. They definitely got us over the line in the group stages and into the knock out stages,” Chirengende told EnterSportNews.
“We played the same game in Uganda last year and their fans got them over the line. That Zambezi corner was buzzing and some of our players wanted to continue playing when we were subbing them off. It’s all thanks to our fans who came out in their numbers.”
Graham Kaulback his assistant was also full of praise for the thousands who stood with the team even in defeat.
“You don’t know how much a partisan home crowd helps. We are hugely thankful to the people of Zimbabwe, supporters of the Cheetahs and Zim rugby, for coming out in their thousands throughout the weekend,” he said.
“They created an amazing atmosphere. We cherish and value our supporters.”
The former Zimbabwe Sevens player also thanked the sponsors who helped the team to become more competitive.
“Without our sponsor it’s not possible to prepare, it’s not possible to play tournaments. We are not anything without our corporate partners,” added Kaulback.
“To all of them we are grateful for their help, their vision and for seeing what we are trying to do with Zim Sevens rugby and Cheetahs. It’s the way forward for Zimbabwe rugby.”
Looking forward to the future, Kaulback believes that Sevens rugby is the future and with more corporate backing, the team will make the nation proud.
“We haven’t been to a fifteens rugby World Cup in a long time, but we keep going to the Sevens World Cup,” he said.
“It’s a great opportunity to get behind Sevens rugby and the Cheetahs in particular.”
