Former Abu Dhabi Harlequins youngster McMillan Chiwawa aiming to shine at Amsterdam 7s

Matt Jones - Editor 19:20 20/05/2017
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  • McMillan Chiwawa in action for Harlequins v Bahrain in the 2014/15 season.

    Former Abu Dhabi Harlequins prospect McMillan Chiwawa will be appearing at the Amsterdam 7s next weekend.

    The talented winger, 23, left Quins last summer and is currently working hard in order to make it as a professional in Europe.

    He’s featured heavily on the international sevens circuit over the last few years and will be in the Netherlands at the weekend for the tournament, which takes place from May 26-28, as part of the Ronin Headhunters.

    The team was formed in York in 2001 by four British Army soldiers and has since competed in numerous UK-based events as well as enjoyed tours to Fiji, Dubai, Las Vegas as well as Amsterdam.

    The make-up of the team this year has a cross Atlantic flavour with half the squad being sevens specialist players from the USA, joining forces with players from the UK, as well as Chiwawa.

    The players will be going for gold in the men’s pier event and Chiwawa is excited to play.

    “I’m really looking forward to playing in an elite competition in Amsterdam with internationals and pro players, I’m going there with eyes and ears open to learn from my teammates and coaching staff with more experience,” said  Zimbabwe-born Chiwawa, who scored six tries on his way to being named his Selects team’s MVP at the USA Sevens in Vegas last year.

    The then 21-year-old was so impressive that he was approached by several scouts.

    “Hopefully I can impress for another MVP title for personal achievements but for team achievements we all want to impress sponsors to expand team growth,” added Chiwawa, who revealed he has been back in his native Zimbabwe for the last 12 months working on a programme to send talented young players to former club Harlequins.

    “I left Harlequins last summer and ever since I’ve started touch rugby in Zimbabwe and I’m working on a player pathway to send quality players to Harlequins so they can learn from the likes of Mike McFarlane, who’s a great coach, and the Quins boys are who an awesome bunch of players.

    “At the moment I’m trying to crack pro in France but there’s always a possibility for a return to Harlequins. I’m grateful for what (chairman) Andy Cole has done for me and a special mention to Jeremy Manning (former Quins player-coach) who was a great mentor.”

    Despite being away from the Emirates, Chiwawa has been keeping up with the national team’s exploits in Malaysia this week at the Asia Rugby Championships, and he is happy to see rugby on the up in the UAE.

    “I see how UAE rugby is growing and games are now broadcasted so I’m proud to have represented the country while I was there in touch, sevens and rugby league,” he added.

    Headhunters emerged from a new sportswear brand which was launched this year, based in Brunei. Their aim is to make money from sports kit with profits going towards growing the game of rugby in the region.

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