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Leitao banks on 7s experience

Sport
ZIMBABWE rugby team vice-captain Jacques Leitao reckons the presence of a number of national sevens players in the squad will serve them well.

ZIMBABWE rugby team vice-captain Jacques Leitao reckons the presence of a number of national sevens players in the squad will serve them well during next week’s 2015 Rugby World Cup play-off against Russia in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. SPORTS REPORTER

Leitao, who is also the captain of the national sevens rugby team the Cheetahs, is part of a group of seven players in the Sables’ 24-man squad for the Russia match who have played on the HSBC World Sevens Series.

Sables captain Daniel Hondo, scrumhalf Hilton Mudariki, lock Fortune Chipendu and wingers Stephan Hunduza and Tafadzwa Chitokwindo are the other players who have featured for the Cheetahs.

In fact, Chitokwindo was in devastating form the last time Zimbabwe played Russia on the HSBC World Sevens Series in Hong Kong, bagging two tries during the 14-5 win in March.

In an interview with NewsDay Sport, Leitao said while the two formats of the game were  different, it was a boost for the Sables to have players who have played at the highest level in sevens.

“I think it’s an advantage to have players who have played at the highest level in Sevens rugby. Playing sevens helps you to have that mental strength in every game, so having those type of players in the 15s format will definitely be good for the whole team,” he said.

“We have played Russia in sevens and we have beaten them I think the last two times we have met them on the IRB World Sevens circuit. Obviously, 15s is a different format, but we know what to expect from them.”

The 31-year-old loose forward, who was in devastating form during the African World Cup qualifiers in Madagascar, emphasised the need for the Sables to match the physicality of their opponents.

“They’re a big, strong and very physical side and we need to match up to them in that aspect of the game. I think the technical team [has been] doing a lot of homework on them and it will be up to us to execute the gameplan that they believe is going to ensure we win,” Leitao said.

The Sables leave the country tomorrow evening for a taxing journey that will see them go via Johannesburg, Amsterdam and Moscow, before connecting to the Siberian town of Krasnoyarsk. They will hold a four-day training camp in that country to acclimatise to the Russian weather.

Zimbabwe need to win the play-off match on August 2 to proceed to the next phase of the playoffs, where they will then tackle the winner of the other play-off between Uruguay and Hong Kong in a two-legged tie.

The winner will join hosts England, Australia, Wales and Fiji in Pool A at next year’s Rugby World Cup showpiece.