Bhika Urges Clinical Edge as Zambia Prepares for Battle of the Zambezi Showdown

Zambia National Rugby Team captain Ali Bhika has urged his teammates to be clinical against Zimbabwe in this Sunday’s Battle of the Zambezi in Harare.

The Copper Eagles will meet the Sables at the Harare Sports Club.

In an exclusive interview, Bhika attributed the defeat in the last meeting between the sides to a lack of cutting edge from the Zambian team.

Bhika said the Zimbabweans were more clinical in their finishing compared to Zambia, which made a lot of unforced errors.

He also said the team has prepared adequately for the first leg of the Zambezi Series.

“The team is well-drilled; we began our preparations well, most guys were put into camp on time, and this time around we don’t have any players carrying any knocks or injuries. The guys are fit; we are at a high-intensity training session through training sessions throughout the week, and we are very much ready for the encounter.” Bhika said.

“Last year the differences weren’t that much between us and Zimbabwe, but the major difference or the small difference was just the clinicality. Zimbabwe were more clinical, and we had small errors or unforced errors that we made that cost us the game in the last minutes. We need to be more disciplined and avoid unforced errors.”

With the team comprising experienced and new players, the captain also revealed that the newcomers have settled in well.

 “We’ve encouraged them, we’ve made them feel welcome in the camp, and we’ve asked them to just express themselves. There’s a reason why they’re called into camp and selected for this game. They have a certain skill set, and we’ve encouraged them to feel free and just express themselves to the benefit of the team,” he stated.

The captain also encouraged rugby fans to rally behind the team.

“We’ve got a fantastic fan base, both local and outside Zambia. All the fans, through thick and thin, they’ve supported us, and we’re really grateful. We enjoy having their support, and we just want to urge them to keep supporting us as we enter this amazing challenge, and we’re promising to do whatever we can do to make sure we come up with a positive result.”

The much-anticipated Battle of the Zambezi between Zambia and Zimbabwe will kick off at 14:30 this Sunday.