BY FORTUNE MBELE
BULAWAYO sports fans are in for a big treat this weekend as the senior men’s football team, the Warriors and the national rugby team, the Sables, troop into the City of Kings for the African Nations Championships (Chan) and the Victoria Cup competitions, respectively.
After their poor show in the Caf Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt last month, the local contingent of the Warriors on Monday were in Mauritius at the Auguste Vollaire Stadium in Flacq and bagged a 4-0 win in the first leg of the preliminary round. They host the islanders at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday in the second leg.
Zifa spokesperson Xolisani Gwesela yesterday said the Warriors were expected to jet into Harare yesterday from Mauritius.
“The Warriors will be in Bulawayo tomorrow as they continue preparations for the second leg,” Gwesela said.
The Warriors are under coach Rahman Gumbo following the resignation of Sunday Chidzambga ahead of the Mauritius tie.
The men’s senior national team was last in Bulawayo in 2013 under the mentorship of Ian Gorowa when they beat Mozambique 2-1 in an international friendly match as they prepared for the 2014 Chan tournament which was hosted by South Africa.
For Sunday’s game, fans will fork out $10 for the rest of the ground, $20 for the wings and $50 for the VIP section.
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Before that game, the Sables will host Kenya in a Victoria Cup fixture on Saturday at Bulawayo’s home of rugby, Hartsfield Rugby Grounds,.
The Sables go into the match bubbling with confidence after the 39-10 win over Zambia in the opening match as well as Saturday’s a 31-26 win against Uganda away at the Legends Rugby Club.
Bulawayo Metropolitan Rugby Board chairman Delvin Ismail is excited at hosting the Sables who played their last game in Bulawayo in July 2017 when they fell to Kenya 41-22.
“It is exciting to have the Sables once again at Hartsfield and we hope that they fight hard to win against Kenya in Bulawayo. The board has gone through a lot of changes and it is good to see that the Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) still has confidence in Bulawayo. We want to urge the fans to come in their numbers to rally behind the Sables. We have put in a lot preparations for this big game,” Ismail.
After losing to the Kenyans in 2017, the Sables went on to lose again to the same side 45-36 in Namibia last year.
The Sables, coached by Brendan Dawson after the ZRU parted ways with former South African Springbok coach Peter de Villiers in May, will be camped at Falcon College in Esigodini and will be in Bulawayo on Friday for the Sartuday match against Kenya who are coming from a 43-23 win over Zambia.
