Story by Lawrence Trusida, Sports Editor
THE Zimbabwe Sables have stepped up preparations for a historic international rugby season, with an intensive tour of South Africa ahead of their clash against South Africa A and debut appearance at the World Rugby Nations Cup.
Zimbabwe have embarked on a crucial South African tour as preparations gather momentum for what is shaping up to be one of the most significant seasons in the modern history of the Sables.
Coach Piet Benade and his squad will first take part in a high-performance training camp with the Blue Bulls from May 27 to 30 before returning to South Africa from June 8 to 13 for another intensive camp with the South Africa Under-20 side.
The camps are expected to provide the Sables with valuable exposure to some of the strongest rugby structures in the world ahead of their historic encounter against South Africa A on June 20 in Gqeberha.
The match will serve as the curtain-raiser to the Springboks’ exhibition showdown against the Barbarians.
Zimbabwe have been in camp since the beginning of the year, starting with inter-squad matches before the locally based players travelled to South Africa for warm-up fixtures against Louis Trichardt Rugby Klub.
The locally-based contingent, together with a few foreign-based players, then returned home and completed a two-match Test series against Zambia, recording victories in both Harare and Bulawayo.
After the South Africa A encounter, the Sables will shift their attention to the inaugural World Rugby Nations Cup in the United States.
Zimbabwe are expected to leave for the United States on June 28, where they will open their campaign against Tonga on July 4 before taking on the hosts, the United States, on July 11 and Canada on July 18.
