Zimbabwe wins Sevens Rugby Shield in Dubai

By Henry Makiwa
7 December 2007

The Zimbabwe sevens rugby team has lifted this year’s Dubai shield after beating African rivals Tunisia last week.
The Cheetahs, as Zimbabwe are known, won the Shield with the last play of the game when Gerald Sibanda's brilliant run left the Tunisian defence flat-footed to go under the posts for his second try of the final and one that clinched a 22-19 victory.

Tunisia had started brightly, but tired at the end as Zimbabwe's pace proved the difference, with the flying Wensley Mbanje also scoring a try double to show why he was short listed for the star of the tournament. Sibanda and Tangai Nemadire had earlier helped Zimbabwe recover from 17-5 down at half time against USA to triumph 29-17 in the semi-final, while Tunisia ran out more convincing winners against the Arabian Gulf.

An excited Cheetahs coach, Liam Middleton, said his side showed great character in winning the prestigious shield.

Middleton said: “We have continued to improve despite the hard times the boys are going through, especially the ones based at home. The economy back home is not well and it has severely affected the game too. These boys are however not broken in spirit. We have a few who ply their trade in South Africa and a two in the United Kingdom, who are obviously better than the rest in terms of welfare. But we work as a team and we are proud to represent our country and achieve things.”

The Zimbabwe sevens team is in South Africa this weekend where they are due to play Kenya and New Zealand among other countries.