The Zimbabwe women’s rugby sevens team showed the huge gulf in quality between them and the lower ranked teams in Southern Africa storming to a dominant win at the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Pre-qualifying Tournament in Lesotho on Sunday.
Affectionately known as the Lady Cheetahs, the Zimbabwe team was in a class of their own as they convincingly won all their four matches at the regional pre-qualifying tournament in Maseru without conceding a try.
Zimbabwe’s win in the regional tournament, which ran from Saturday to Sunday, means they have qualified for the Africa Women’s Sevens which in turn serves as a qualifier for the Sevens World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
After finishing the opening day on Saturday unbeaten in three matches, the Lady Cheetahs needed to win their last round robin game against Mauritius to be confirmed winners.
And the Derick Chiwara-coached side did not disappoint as they comfortably defeated Mauritians 20-0 to clinch the regional title and book their ticket to the continental championships which will be played in Uganda.
Earlier on Saturday, the Lady Cheetahs retained a perfect record, winning three out of three in convincing fashion on the first day of the regional Africa Cup qualifying tournament in Lesotho.
The Zimbabwe team kicked off the event with a massive 62-0 win over hosts Lesotho before despatching Namibia and Botswana by identical 39–0 score lines.
The team carried on the ruthless form into the second day when they easy dismissed Mauritius in their final round robin game.
In a statement on Sunday, Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) applauded the Lady Cheetahs for their victorious tour of Lesotho.
“The Zimbabwe Women’s Rugby Lady Cheetahs Qualify for the Africa Cup in Uganda after securing a 20-0 win over Mauritius in the Pre-qualifying tournament held in Maseru, Lesotho. Congratulations to the Lady Cheetahs. What a flawless performance all weekend! The lady Cheetahs scored a total of 160 points and did not concede any. Well done Lady Cheetahs,” ZRU said in its congratulatory message on their social media platforms.