FORMER Cheetahs stalwart Daniel Hondo has thrown his weight in support of the new-look national Sevens (7s) rugby team ahead of the Port Elizabeth, SA, leg of the HSBC World 7s series this weekend.
DANIEL NHAKANISO SPORTS REPORTER
Hondo was an integral part of the Cheetahs squad for close to a decade before calling time on his illustrious career in the shorter version of the game three months ago.
This weekend’s Nelson Mandela Bay 7s in Port Elizabeth will be the first international tournament. The national 7s team will be without both Hondo and the equally experienced Jacques Leitao and Wensley Mbanje.
In an interview with sister paper NewsDay Sport yesterday, Hondo is in South Africa to offer his support to the side. He said he was fully behind the new-look team.
“I think it’s a strong squad. There’s a good mix of exciting young players and the tried and tested seasoned players and the spirit in the team is good. The older players have been doing their best to get all our new caps in the right frame of mind because it’s a different ball game,” he said.
“The team has trained well and we need to focus on what we are good at and that’s the running game. I believe we have the pace in the team to back ourselves,” Hondo, also a qualified strength and conditioning expert, said.
Five of the 12 players in the Cheetahs squad — namely Hilton Mudariki, Boyd Rouse, Lenience Tambwera, Brendon Boshi and Biselele Tshamala — will be making their debuts on the HSBC World 7s series.
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The Cheetahs will, however, call on some of their seasoned players such as skipper Fortune Chipendu, Gardner Nechironga and Tangai Nemadire who are by far the most experienced players in the team.
Speed merchant Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, Tapiwa Tsomondo, Njabulo Ndlovu and Kilvan Magunje also have previous experience at international level.
The Cheetahs will battle it out with England, Argentina and Samoa in Pool D on Saturday, needing to win at least two matches to progress to the cup quarter-finals the next day.
It might seem an insurmountable task, but Hondo believes it’ll an attainable goal.
“We will need to take it one game at a time. We believe every team can be beaten. We have worked on a lot of things and it’s about execution. Every game will be approached accordingly,” Hondo added.
Cheetahs squad: Fortune Chipendu, Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, Boyd Rouse, Njabulo Ndlovu, Tapiwa Tsomondo, Biselele Tshamala, Kilvan Mangunje, Lenience Tambwera, Hilton Mudariki, Brandon Boshi, Gardner Nechironga, Tangai Nemadire.
