ZIMBABWE will look to their dominant pack of forwards as they seek to continue their dominance over hosts Madagascar in their opening match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifiers at the Mahamasina Stadium in Antananarivo this afternoon.
DANIEL NHAKANISO
The match kicks off at 1350 hours and will be broadcast live on Supersport 9.
Madagascar, who have won only two of their nine matches against the Sables since the team’s first meeting in 1987, play an open game, spreading the ball wide and attacking the open space.
Zimbabwe will have to counter with a strong pack, especially in the tight five, in order to unsettle the Indian Ocean islanders who are likely to be backed by a partisan 40 000 home crowd.
The only worry for the Sables in the forwards is lack of experience in the front row where they have only two experienced props in Scotland-based Denford Mutamangira and Pieter Joubert.
The other two options in that department are 19-year-old Farai Mudariki and former CBC school-boy Lawrence Clemson who will both be making their debuts at test level.
However, while the Sables’ options in the front row look thin, they will be spoiled for choice in the second row and the loose trio where they have strong ball carriers, breakdown specialists and tall jumpers during lineout set pieces.
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The input of former Springbok prop Balie Swart, who worked with the Sables’ scrum towards the end of their 10-day intensive training camp is also going to come in handy during scrum time.
While the pack will be the most critical department for the Sables, backline resources may also be a headache for head coach Brendan Dawson.
SABLES STARTING 15 1-D Mutamangira, 2-K Murray, 3-K Nqindi, 4-S Sibanda, 5-J Ferreira, 6-G Lawler, 7-J Leitao, 8-L Groenewald, 9-H Mudariki, 10-G Cronje, 11-S Hunduza, 12-R O’Neill, 13-D Hondo, 14-T Chitokwindo, 15-T Nemadire REPLACEMENTS M Mandiona, P Joubert, K Lang, N Ndlovu, P du Toit, D Robertson, G Sibanda, L Tambwera, F Mudariki, L Clemson, S Ferreira
