Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(6) 15 Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (19) 19
BY SPORTS REPORTER
THE Zimbabwe national 15s rugby team put up their best performance of the season, but fell short with a 15-19 defeat against a higher-ranked Russia side in their opening match of the Cup of Nations tournament in Hong Kong yesterday.
Having going down 50-5 to the same team last year, it was a brilliant turnaround for the Sables although ultimately they could not halt their eight-match losing streak. Sables coach Cyprian Mandenge said he was pleased with his team’s performance, especially in the second half where they completely shut down their opponents and came close to snatching their first win over the Russians.
“The result shows that we lost 15-19, but generally I’m pleased with the way the boys played. We were trailing 19-6 in the first half and we restricted them from scoring after the break. There are a lot of positives from the game, but also some negatives and we will need to review the video and see where we can improve going forward. We have a very young team and they fought very hard until the final whistle and we were just unfortunate to lose in the end,” Mandenge said.
After getting off to a positive start, the Sables lost their concentration to concede 14 unanswered points inside the first 30 minutes as Russia ran in two converted tries. Flyhalf Lenience Tambwera, who was impressive from the kicking tee, reduced arrears with two penalties, but it was Russia who went to the break in the ascendancy with another try.
After playing second fiddle to their opponents before the break, the Sables grew into the game after the break, managing to score 12 unanswered points from the boot of Tambwera. Despite the defeat, the Sables still managed to secure a bonus point which leaves them with a chance of winning the Cup of Nations tournament if they manage bonus point victories over Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea on Tuesday and Saturday.
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15 Lungile Tshuma, 14 Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, 13 Kudzai Mashawi, 12 Riaan O’Neil, Stephan Hunduza, 10 Lenience Tambwera, 9 Kuziwakwashe Kazembe, 8 Njabulo Ndlovu, 7 Andrew Rose, 6 Biselele Tshamala, 5 Witness Mandizha, 4 Michael Passaportis, 3 Brian Makamure, 2 Matthew Mandioma, 1 Denford Mutamangira (captain) Replacements: 16 Tolerance Zishe, 17 Irvine Nduwa, 18 Lawrence Cleminson, 19 Tapfuma Parirenyatwa, 20 Connor Pritchard, 21 Joshua Gando, 22 Tichafara Makwanya, 23 Bradley Ellse
