Zimbabwe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (14) 32
Namibia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3) 10
THE Sables ended Namibia’s hegemony in African rugby after defeating the six-time continental champions in the semi-final of the Africa Cup in Uganda yesterday.
Zimbabwe’s national men’s 15s side will now take on Algeria in Sunday’s final.
The Sables had a bone to chew with Namibia after falling against them at the same stage in last year’s competition played in France.
Tapiwa Mafura was the toast of the Sables with his incredible runs, creativity and skill driving Zimbabwe to a historic victory.
He was duly named player of the match.
Sables captain Hilton Mudariki described the win as massive, however, adding that they would enjoy the win yesterday and get back at work preparing for the final against Algeria, who beat Kenya in the other semifinal on a day of upsets.
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“It is a massive win for us. We have not beaten Namibia for 22 years and I have been in the system for 11 years and still had not beaten them,” Mudariki said.
“Everyone wants to play in the final and we are truly blessed to be in it. I think it just came down to the belief and hard work.
“We have got quality coaching stuff, an excellent coaching group that brings in a lot of experience and calmness in the guys.”
Namibia’s captain Danco Burger refused to take anything away from Zimbabwe, saying they executed their plan well.
“We never underestimated Zimbabwe, we knew what was coming,” he said.
“We did not execute our skills well. We made some basic mistakes and we needed to keep the ball.”
