By SportsCast Writer HARARE – The raft of changes to Zimbabwe’s side for the World Rugby Nations Cup second game against hosts United States of America on Sunday morning (01:30 Zim time) are not a direct reaction to the team’s performance in the 36-26 defeat to Tonga last weekend. The Sables put up a gallant performance to nearly beat Tonga in Colorado last week, with the team’s line-outs and some key players made to shoulder the blame for the loss after the African natio

By SportsCast Writer HARARE – Zimbabwe have rung changes for their World Rugby Nations Cup opener against Tonga in the early hours of Sunday (12:15 Zim time), with some regulars either named on the bench or missing from the match-day squad altogether. The Sables, who arrived in the United States last weekend ahead of the first match in Denver, Colorado, are building squad depth in a bid to assemble a group of capable players who can seamlessly replace starters and still d

By Enock Muchinjo HARARE – Knowledgeable Sables fans will not be astonished by the mildly dissatisfied murmurs from the Springbok camp that the South Africa ‘A’ side wasn’t as clinical enough as they would have liked to see against Zimbabwe on Saturday. Simply because, unless you’re merely an armchair critic like most who have reacted to the result, everything leading up to the outcome in Gqeberha on Saturday will make sense beyond what the graphic designers circulated af

By SportsCast Writer HARARE – Zimbabwe have gone for consistency in their team section for the clash against South Africa ‘A’ on Saturday in Gqeberha with Stormers lock Gary Porter the only new face in the starting line-up. Debutant Porter will partner the experienced international Kudakwashe Nyakufaringwa in the Sables’ engine room while there have been some adjustments in the forward pack. Simba Siraha, who earned all his previous Sables caps at lock, has been selected at b

By SportsCast Writer HARARE – Donald Campbell, the headmaster of Lilfordia School and young brother of former Zimbabwe cricket captain Alistair Campbell, has announced a permanent campus ban on parent Lotshe Mangena following his involvement in a disturbing violent incident at another school where one of his children is also a learner. Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of 50-year-old Mangena after he stormed a rugby pitch at Eaglesvale High School while threateningly

Zimbabwe trained in Stellenbosch ahead of the clash with South Africa 'A'. By Enock Muchinjo HARARE – For a man who made an unerasable footprint in the game of rugby in both countries, Kennedy Tsimba’s interest in the match between South Africa ‘A’ and his native Zimbabwe on Saturday is irrefutable. The clash between the exciting South African second-string side and Zimbabwe is an opener for the Springboks’ unofficial Test with the Barbarians at the Nelson Mandela Bay Sta

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER Lotshe Mangena (right) pose with a relative at a function in this file picture. HARARE – The parent who brandished a gun and allegedly assaulted a schoolboy rugby player at Eaglesvale High School in Harare on Saturday has been identified as the son of the late Zimbabwean nationalist and distinguished soldier Alfred Nikita Mangena, who was a ZIPRA commander. Lotshe Mangena, a parent at the upmarket Bulawayo private all-boys school Christian Brothers

Zimbabwe (in white and green) have been preparing in Stellenbosch with South Africa Under-20. BY SPORTSCAST WRITER HARARE – Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has hailed Zimbabwe as a “quality” rugby team ahead of the Sables’ clash with a South Africa ‘A’ side in Port Elizabeth next weekend. The Zimbabweans and the second-string South Africa side will curtain-raise the Boks’ match against the Barbarians on 20 June. Revered World Cup-winning coach Erasmus has shown his r

SPORTSCAST WRITER HARARE – Zimbabwe’s squad will be reinforced for the World Rugby Nations Cup tour of the United States after the completion of an ongoing training camp in South Africa and the match against South Africa ‘A’ in Port Elizabeth on 20 June. Zimbabwe this week named a 32-man squad for the camp and game against SA ‘A’, with several star players that helped the Sables qualify for the 2027 World Cup conspicuous by their absence. Sables head coach Piet Benade o

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER PRETORIA – A new rugby case study developed by Zimbabwean-born and South African-based coach Kennedy Tsimba is exploring whether Africa's unique sporting environments may offer valuable insights into the future evolution of rugby. Known as the Shift Theory, the work examines the transition and unstructured moments of the game, the periods between set plays and organised phase structures where players must adapt, make rapid decisions and respond to chan

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER HARARE – Sables star winger Matt McNab has signed for Coventry Rugby Club after leaving fellow English Premiership side Doncaster Knights, moving to a city where another Zimbabwean, Peter Ndlovu, made his historic breakthrough in football more than three decades ago. Bulawayo-born McNab (27) is joining his third Champ Rugby club with an impressive record in the second tier of England’s rugby system, having made 71 appearances in the league and scoring 3

BY TINO MOMBESHORA HARARE – I love travelling and exploring, when the pocket allows and there’s the real prospect of experiencing something totally new and exciting. So as a big fan of Zimbabwean sport, Uganda was the perfect destination, to witness the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup, a qualification competition for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. At the same time, an opportunity to discover the “Pearl of Africa”, as this East African country proudly calls itself. I’d never been to Ug

BY CRISPEN MHIKE HARARE – Mathew Mbundire, who passed away suddenly in Harare on Tuesday just seven days shy of his 60th birthday, had a career that stood firmly as testament to his passion for developing young people. Mukoma Mathew began his journey as the Sports Director at St John’s Preparatory School in Harare, where he shaped the character of countless young athletes across generations. His natural leadership skills and dedication eventually led him to the role of

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER HARARE – Old school and rugby teammates of Tobias Matonhodze, the jailed cousin of the late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s son Bellarmine Chatunga, spoke last week of how his bust-or-win lifestyle has probably contributed to him dramatically falling foul with the law. Motonhodze (33) was a gifted and fearless rugby player at Kyle College, a leading private school in Masvingo, Zimbabwe’s oldest city. Tobias Matonhodze (number 15) execute

BULAWAYO – A heavily rotated Zimbabwe side battled to a hard-fought 17-7 victory over Zambia at Hartsfield Rugby Ground on Saturday, continuing their preparations for a demanding international season. Despite making several changes to the lineup, Zimbabwe, without the bulk of their foreign-based stars, had enough overcome their much-improved Southern African neighbours in a tightly contested encounter. The result sealed a clean sweep for Zimbabwe, who had already beaten

BY ENOCK MUCHINJO HARARE – Zimbabwe international Tapiwa Mafura has been released by Lions in South Africa and will head home to join the national team’s early preparations for next year’s World Cup in Australia. A reliable source in Harare told SportsCast on Wednesday that the Sables star fullback has left the Johannesburg franchise at his own request after failing to get game-time for a prolonged period. Mafura was believed to be on his way to Europe or switching team

The following is a verbatim excerpt from a conversation between record-breaking ex-Springbok wing Tonderai Chavhanga and SportsCast founding Editor Enock Muchinjo following confirmation this week of World Cup-bound Zimbabwe’s curtain-raiser match against South Africa ‘A’ for the Springboks versus Barbarians clash on 20 June in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), South Africa. Tonderai Chavhanga (third from left; front row) as Zimbabwe's assistant coach during the SuperSport

South Africa A have made a welcome return to the rugby calendar. SA A will take on Zimbabwe in Gqeberha on 20 June in a curtain-raiser to the Springboks’ opening match of the season against the Barbarians. The last time SA A team took the field was during the 2022 end-of-year tour against Munster and the Bristol Bears. With the 2027 World Cup in sight for both the Springboks and the Sables – who qualified for the international spectacle for the first time since 1991 – t

Bath’s 1997/98 season is best remembered as the year they became the first English champions of Europe. But, privately, it was also the time when the genesis of an idea that transition play could be coached was planted in the mind of the one of the club’s overseas signings, Kennedy Tsimba. As the first black player to captain the Zimbabwe in 1998, Tsimba already had a track record in breaking new ground. But lately he’s become a pioneer in coaching transition, the grey area b

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER Some of the squad's younger players pose for a photo after the big win on Tuesday. HARARE – Zimbabwe rugby team assistant coach Ricky Chirengende says the tour to Louis Trichardt is giving uncapped younger players an opportunity to showcase what they can potentially bring to the Test side. An entirely locally-based squad mixed with senior Sables stars and emerging players – playing as Zimbabwe ‘A’ – is on a two-match tour of the South African town as