Zimbabwe assistant coach TJ Shamu has expressed satisfaction with his team’s performances at the ongoing Safari 7s tournament, praising the players for their resilience and defensive work as they secured a place in the quarter-finals.
The Cheetahs have made a positive start to their campaign at the 28th edition of the tournament, recording two wins and a draw in their opening three matches at Nyayo National Stadium.
Zimbabwe began their campaign with a 22-14 victory over Wonder Sevens on Friday before edging Gel Squad 7s 24-17. They then wrapped up their group-stage assignments with a hard-fought 12-12 draw against Kenya Morans on Saturday to book their place in the last eight.
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The draw against the Morans provided a stern test for the Zimbabweans, who had to dig deep after falling behind early in the contest. Shamu credited the Kenyan side for their physical approach while applauding his players for fighting their way back into the game.
“Very tough game. Credit to the Kenya Morans; they gave us a lot of pressure, especially with the ball in hand. They were very physical, and our boys tucked in,” Shamu told Sportpesa blog.
“Obviously, we were down early, and we had to fight back. Credit to the boys for fighting back, but well done to Kenya Morans for giving us a tough game.”
Shamu also reflected on the areas that pleased him most, pointing to the defensive discipline displayed by his players despite conceding two tries.
However, he admitted that their attacking execution could have been better, with Zimbabwe failing to make the most of several opportunities.
“Definitely, what worked well was that it was probably our best defensive set of the whole tournament. We tried to put stops on the outside. We leaked two tries, but generally, we are happy with how they defended for the large part of that game,” he explained.
“Maybe what didn’t work well was just our execution with the ball. We are usually ruthless whenever we get opportunities. I think we left some tries out there.”
The assistant coach further revealed that the team’s preparations for Safari 7s came after their participation in the Africa SVNS 3 qualifiers in Uganda, with the technical bench using the tournament to give more players an opportunity to develop.
According to Shamu, Zimbabwe deliberately rotated their squad as they seek to broaden their pool of players and assess the options available to them ahead of future assignments.
“We were obviously coming off the back of the Africa SVNS 3 qualifiers in Uganda, which was good. But we also rotated quite a few players to try to grow our pool, so we are excited to see the guys who played today,” he said.
“I mean, we did what we could to make sure we were ready, and we are happy with where we were when we played.”
The results so far suggest that Zimbabwe have maintained their competitiveness despite the changes made to the squad. Their ability to recover against Kenya Morans could prove important as they move into the knockout stage, where there will be little room for mistakes.
The Cheetahs will now turn their attention to the quarter-finals, where they are scheduled to face French Renegades as they seek to extend their run at the Safari 7s.
With their defensive performance earning praise from the technical bench, Zimbabwe will hope to improve their attacking precision and convert more of their scoring chances as the competition enters its decisive stages.