BY SPORTSCAST WRITER
HARARE – Tapiwa Mafura has been left out of the Lions squad for the third consecutive time this year in the United Rugby Championship, but the Zimbabwe ace fullback is remaining focused on helping his country shine at the 2027 World Cup qualification tournament in Uganda in July.
Mafura hasn’t played for Lions so far in 2025, having last featured for the Johannesburg side this season in the 21-10 defeat away to Stormers on 21 December.
For the third time this year and despite a clean bill of health, the 28-year-old mercurial Sables fullback will not be even among the substitutes as Lions make the short trip to Pretoria for a URC round 12 clash with Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
“I’m just not getting selected, I don’t know when I’ll play again,” Mafura told SportsCast on Friday.
Mafura also plays on the wing at Lions, but his last appearance in the URC was at fullback, making the starting line-up last December away to Stormers. With Quarn Horn having produced a man-of-the-match performance at fullback last weekend in the 30-23 reverse fixture win over the men from Cape Town, it means Mafura will have to work harder to regain his place in the Lions side.
For the meantime, Mafura is hugely excited at the prospect of returning to Uganda this July for the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup, which will also be the continent’s final World Cup qualifier for the next edition of the sport’s biggest showpiece in Australia in 2027.
Stylish Mafura showcased his range of skills in the Ugandan capital Kampala last year to set the Africa Cup ablaze. He was voted Player of the Tournament as a well-oiled Zimbabwe side roared to win its second title in the history of the continental championship.
“When we get to July, I want to make sure that I’m in good form, you know, very confident in the games that we have to play,” said Mafura.
“But ja, man, really excited. I can’t wait for July, it’s going to come very soon, time is flying…really excited and I just want to make sure I can stay consistent in the way that I’m training at the moment. When that opportunity comes, I’m ready to play well for my country.”
After starring in all three Africa Cup games in Kampala last July, Mafura however didn’t go on Zimbabwe’s end-of-year tour to the Middle East and Asia, where the Sables beat the United Arab Emirates and South Korea to close 2024 with a 100 percent win record.
“I don’t get enough time to train with the Sables because of club commitments, so that makes my preparations a little bit harder because I know that when we get to the World Cup qualifiers, we would have had two to three weeks to train together before we have to play,” Mafura commented.
“So that leaves the responsibility in my hands to make sure that I’m training well and playing well for my club.”
Meanwhile, Lions’ Zimbabwean-born lock Darrien Landsberg will power the scrum alongside Etienne Oosthuizen against the Bulls on Saturday, making his second start in the URC for the second time this year. Like his Lions teammate Mafura, Landsberg was raised and schooled in South Africa. Zimbabwe’s national team is believed to be pursuing the towering 26-year-old second-row, who is however understood to be eyeing an international career with the Springboks.
