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Botswana geared for rugby Olympic qualifier sevens

Xinhua, November 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Botswana's men's rugby sevens team is raring to go ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic qualifier that will take place in South Africa this coming weekend.

Botswana coach Seabe Gabatladiwe announced his final squad on Tuesday saying they have been going through a vigorous preparation period and was adamant his charges will do well against some of the best teams in the continent.

"We are ready for this tournament with no injuries. I have in my team a few experienced players and some very good youngsters who are eager to go," he said.

Botswana find themselves in the final qualification tournament in the continent after finishing runner-ups in a pre-qualifier tournament played in Rwanda in July.

Botswana is in pool C alongside Morocco, Tunisia and Namibia. The 12 team tournament will only see the winner getting automatic qualification to the Rio 2016 Olympics while the teams that finish 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively will qualify for a final repecharge tournament to be played in July 2016.

Gabatladiwe told Xinhua that he has managed to assemble the best 12 players in the country and they have been working hard in preparations to ensure they are ready to take on anyone.

He added that there is no easy team at the tournament as all teams will bring full strength squads with an eye on the global showpiece. Rugby Sevens will be marking its debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Endi