We’ve always really outdone ourselves at the World Cup

Alex Nicholls is one of four legendary Zimbabwean rugby players (alongside Craig Brown, Andy Ferreira and the late Richard Tsimba) to feature in both previous World Cup tournaments for the Sables in 1987 and 1991. The former prop and later national team coach has expressed his elation following Zimbabwe’s historic qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Australia, 34 years after their class of 1991 last took the nation to the sport’s biggest showpiece.

Below is a verbatim transcript of Nicholls’ recorded interview with SportsCast, reliving memories of the past and rallying behind the current crop of Sables.

Zimbabwe head coach Alex Nicholls at the 1999 World Cup qualification competition for Africa in Morocco in 1998.

BY ALEX NICHOLLS

HARARE – It was a great experience for us to go to that first World Cup, and the second World Cup.

But to actually see the Sables qualify again, for the first time in all those many years, was amazing. You know, we’ve come so close too many times and we kept losing out to Namibia. But I knew that they would come through sooner rather than later.

I remember when I coached the Zim ‘B’ side (in the 1990s), they asked me to put together a Zim ‘B’ squad for the Africa Cup and we did exceptionally well with our youngsters coming through. Namibia were petrified after that experience because that strong Under-20 side, mixed with a blend of youth and experience, gave all those teams a good run for their money.

In fact, we actually played better than the national team during that period. And Namibia got a big wake-up call, they were shocked at our depth then, and the possibilities that we had. And then, obviously, things deteriorated after that and we had all sorts of constrains going on in our rugby. And I feel we still do, because our club system is not up to scratch. But I think they are doing a great job trying to get that up, with this tournament that we’ve just had (Sables Lager Grid Cup). And we’ve qualified for the World Cup, which is just an amazing thing for our country again.

I think if we keep going in the right direction, we should keep qualifying. I think this is the start of a good thing for us. And what it’s going to do is, it’s going to spur all those school kids, Under-20s, to keep playing and that’s what we need. We need depth, we got to create depth. That’s what is making the Springboks good these days, it’s the depth. And we got a reason to play now, and we are not just going to play at a club, for a bit of fun. You got the opportunity now to play at the highest level and test yourself against the rest. And that’s how I looked at it when I went to the first World Cup. We knew we were going to be up against it. But we didn’t go there saying ‘oh no, we’re going to be the whipping boys.’

We really did give Romania a run for their money (in the first game of the `87 World Cup, Romania with a late 21-20 comeback win). If it wasn’t for a silly mistake right at the very end, a defensive error, we would have beaten Romania. But we never went there without being prepared to put on a show. And when we look at both World Cups, interestingly enough if you’ve noticed, at the round-ups, they showed you the tries of the week, they pick the five top tries of every week and I think in 1991 we played against Ireland, Scotland and Japan. In every one of those games, we had a try that was in the top five tries of the week. So we’ve gone there, yes, we’ve taken a beating in some instances. But we’ve always played well. We’ve always really outdone ourselves at the World Cup.

And obviously the disappointing game for us (in 1991) was Japan. We should have beaten Japan. But again, you know, it's sport, and they were prepared. That’s when they started this run-at-your-feet, dive-at-your-feet, just ruck out and move the ball around. And we were still in that game, we were unlucky that we missed some kicks and that’s what turned that game for us. But that was a big disappointment for all of us. But, you know, we’ve got the ability, and it’s all about belief and I really think if we go there, we can cause an upset.

The draw is a tough one, in a way for us. England, Wales, Tonga. As (former Sables captain) Kenny Tsimba said (in a SportsCast interview last week), Tonga would be a physical game. But that doesn’t mean you can’t beat them if you play the right game, the smart game – we can give them a run for their money. Tonga are not the team that they used to be either anymore. We are up and coming, and we’ve got to remember to go there and play with confidence. As Kenny said, we’ve got to play our brand.

Even against Wales. Wales are at the bottom of the pile right now. I’d love to play them now, anything can happen perhaps. But you know we might be a bit too optimistic, but I really believe that if we go there, if we start our games well, and don’t play catch-up, we stand a chance. And you know when you are a big team, and you are under pressure, you can see it, panic sets in, decision-making becomes poor. So we just have to go out there with our wits about us, determined, resilient. You know, as Kenny said, as Zimbabweans we’ve always been fighters, we’ve never given up and ja, I still believe it’s possible.

The last World Cup look at how Georgia played, look at how Portugal played. No one thought Portugal would play the way they did against some of those teams. And again, it’s belief. If we get out there, start playing well, I believe the guys can rise to the occasion. So it’s going to be very, very interesting.

I don’t think our pool is that bad. Obviously England, England will be a tough one for us. I was fortunate enough to coach our team against Wales (in Harare in 1998 as the Welsh prepared for a one-Test tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe prepared for the 1999 World Cup qualifiers). That was a great occasion for us as well because we’d just started to put together a (forwards) pack that had some size and beef, and we actually played very well against them (despite the 49-11 loss).

And they were quite impressed with the way we played. What they didn’t realise is that at that stage, we were still up and coming and we were still building our team. But I think we played really well in that Test. I can’t remember some of their big names. I do know they said to me after the game that they were impressed with the way we played, and they felt they had a very good team. And I remember saying that if they played the way they did against us, they would lose to the Springboks by 100 points and they were quite offended. And they did, they actually lost by 90 points (96-13) to the Springboks two weeks later.

But for us it was a great experience, it was a great time. (Flyhalf) Kenny played one half for us because he came in on the very last minute (from the United Kingdom). We were experimenting with our team because we were getting ready to go to the World Cup qualifiers in Morocco (for the 1999 World Cup, which resulted in Namibia qualifying for the first time). We had to play some of the guys we were not too sure about to see if they could stand up and take the heat. Guys like (winger) Russell Karimazondo, and they all played well. Our pack scrummed well, and, we didn’t let ourselves down.

So that was a great experience for us and ja, a lot has changed, but I think now, where we’ve gone back in time, is this new game. Scrumming is more protected now than when we played. If you watched the games when we played, everybody just stood up, lined up in front of themselves and you went in. And it was man-for-man physical contact.

Its still physical, but it’s more controlled. But I think that, in a way, could suit us. If we get technique right, technique is still a big thing, and I don’t believe our technique is as good as it could. If we work on our technique, we’ve got some beefy boys playing now, and I believe if we really get stuck in and work hard on our technique, and the forwards go out there and prepare to put some extra effort on that scrumming machine, we could hold our own enough to get good ball and run at them. That is our strengths as Kenny said, running at them is our strengths. Our forwards are big boys and we are also mobile. We’ve got to use our mobility.

If we had played in the modern era with the team we went with to the `87 World Cup, we could have caused some amazing upsets in a way because we played with our forwards, we had fast guys. (Fellow prop) Andy Tucker had speed, I was reasonably fast. We had a great loose trio and if we could have used our forwards more in a modern side as they do today, it would have been interesting to see.

But ja, I think its going to be an amazing opportunity for us, and what excites me as I said is I think it’s the start of big things for Zimbabwe going forward. We got to get boys playing, we’ve got to keep them going. It’s going to give every schoolboy more determination to play. Knowing they could go to an Under-20 World Cup sweetens the deal, but knowing that you are going to go to the bigger showcase on earth, and play the main World Cup, that’s just amazing. The draw shows us Wales, England. But that could be New Zealand next time, Australia, it just opens so much for us and gives so much opportunity to grow as team, as individuals. I just think that it’s fantastic, I really do.

There is a group of us old guys already talking on a group that went to the `87 World Cup. We are already trying to put something together so what we go to Australia to be with the team when they play. That how it means to us. I actually get quite emotional! It’s just amazing!

One thing I did leave off, since that the World Cup qualification is behind us now, it seems we have got quite a number of good games lined up next year (in the World Rugby Nations Cup) in preparation for 2027. And I think that’s going to be crucial because it gives us an opportunity to get a bunch of guys, pick a team and actually put them through their paces so that we get to that World Cup prepared. You know, when we went to the `87 and `91 World Cups, we played four internationals a year. We played two Tests against Portugal, and we had two Tests against somebody else, I think it was Russia. That was our warm-up for the World Cup.

Luckily our club rugby was still strong, the league had strong teams so week-in week-out we played at a reasonable level but that is certainly not an international level. So next year we’ve got the opportunity to play together as a team, from what I can see, four or five great games. That’s going to mean everything to us. We can put something behind that, and get our guys ready. That is going to be an extra bonus for us, to go to that World Cup prepared to take on some of these big names.