Zimbabwe Sevens coach Gilbert Nyamutsamba is determined to guide his team to a second consecutive Kwesé Sports Victoria Falls Sevens title when the tournament gets underway this weekend.
The Zambezi Cheetahs, who won the inaugural event last March, are using this year's edition to prepare for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens to be staged in San Francisco, USA.
The tournament, scheduled for 24 and 25 March, will feature ten teams, with Zambia fielding two while hosts Zimbabwe will have three. Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho and False Bay, from South Africa, are also taking part.
In true Zimbabwean fashion, however, the Zambezi Cheetahs have scarcely enjoyed the level of preparation they would have preferred in the run-up to the tournament after remaining largely inactive since securing their World Cup ticket at the Africa Cup Sevens tournament last October.
Nyamutsamba insists that his men will battle to retain the crown in front of their home crowd.
"We last played competitively last year [at the Africa Cup Sevens]. Definitely this is not ideal and will make it difficult for us to perform at the level that is expected of us as defending champions," the Cheetahs boss told KweséESPN. "But yes, we go to Victoria Falls aiming to win the tournament."
Since finishing second to hosts Uganda at the Africa Cup, Nyamutsamba has only managed to hold training camps in Harare and Bulawayo meant to identify fresh talent. A similar event earmarked for South Africa, the destination of choice for so many talented local starlets, however floundered due to "circumstances beyond our control", Nyamutsamba explained.
Still, the coach has included eight South Africa-based players -- along with German-based Tafadzwa Chitokwindo and Boyd Rouse, who plays in England -- in the 30-member squad which goes into camp on Monday.
Only 24 players will make the trip to Victoria Falls, after which 18 will remain in camp to prepare for the Hong Kong Sevens. The squad will be further be trimmed to 12 before departure for Hong Kong.
At the Kwesé Sports Victoria Falls Sevens, the 10 participating teams will be divided into two groups of five each, with around 20 matches expected to be played on Day 1. The second day will consist of knockouts until the final.