Ellina Mhlanga

Zimpapers Sports Hub

GEMS coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki says he is happy with the team’s show at the Celtic Cup after managing a fourth-place finish at the tournament that ended on Sunday at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland.

The five-day showcase of competitive netball featured six teams — Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwean side managed two wins when beating Northern Ireland and Namibia.

They overpowered Northern Ireland 57-40 in their opening game, and their second victory came three days into the tournament when defeating Namibia 49-39.

Zimbabwe lost 42-55 to Wales before going down 54-67 to Uganda’s She Cranes on day four of the event.

They were beaten 55-45 by Scotland in their final game on Sunday.

However, for Mutsauki it is the lessons learnt from the tournament that are key as they continue to work on improving the team.

“I am happy with the team’s performance,” Mutsauki said.

“Of course, there is a lot that we need to continuously work on, like fitness. As the competition progressed, you could tell our players were now struggling because of fitness.

“I think we didn’t get enough time to train because of the rains sometimes, which affected the team, and you could tell in the last games we were struggling. But otherwise, the team played well.”

Going into their game against Uganda, the Gems had hoped to replicate last year’s form when they beat the African powerhouse at the Africa Netball Cup.

It was the first time Zimbabwe beat the She Cranes and this time around it proved to be a tough task.

Mutsauki noted that lack of height in the team was their major setback when going against teams such as Uganda, Wales and Scotland.

“These games, especially the games against Wales, Uganda and Scotland, our setback was the defence because we do not have height.

“They have tall shooters and when we failed to defend in the mid-court, it made things difficult for us.

“We had to work extra hard in mid-court . . . But we keep on learning and correct our shortfalls. “We learnt a lot because those three teams have tall shooters, and their fitness level were way ahead of us, that was my assessment,” added Mutsauki.

Uganda beat last year’s champions, Wales, 70-48 in their final game to claim the 2025 Celtic Cup.

Zimbabwe were making their second appearance at the tournament having participated last year.

They finished third in the then four-team competition also featuring Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The Gems shift focus to the Africa Netball Cup that is scheduled for December 8 to 14 in Lilongwe, Malawi.

The team is expected back home today.

Mutsauki admitted he would have wanted more time to rest the players ahead of their next assignment.

Zimbabwe will join South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Botswana and Tanzania for the week-long competition.

The Gems coach is hoping for a top-three finish in Malawi and believes with teamwork and support they can achieve the target.