Northampton prop Kundiona breaks arm on Zimbabwe duty, faces extended spell out

Northampton Saints are sweating over tight-head cover after Zimbabwe prop Cleopas Kundiona broke his arm during Zimbabwe’s 43-7 Nations Cup defeat to Samoa at Wakefield’s DIY Kitchen Stadium, leaving him sidelined for the foreseeable future.

The 27-year-old suffered the injury in the first half of the fourth-round fixture — his 20th cap for the Sables — and faces a race against time to be fit for Zimbabwe’s historic Rugby World Cup campaign in Australia next year. It will be Zimbabwe’s first World Cup appearance since 1991, and Kundiona had been expected to anchor the scrum throughout the tournament.

The timing is particularly difficult for Northampton. Kundiona has started all seven of his appearances for Saints in all competitions this season, stepping up in large part because fellow tight-head Trevor Davison has been absent since the end of March following three knee operations in the space of a year.

With Davison’s return date still uncertain, Saints Director of Rugby Phil Dowson is now left with only Sonny Tonga’uiha and Ion Neculai as tight-head options. Depending on how long Kundiona is out, Dowson may be forced into the transfer market to plug the gap.

Kundiona made his Test debut as a 19-year-old in June 2018 and has developed into one of Zimbabwe’s most important forwards. The 125kg former Natal player has been a reliable presence in the Northampton front row since joining the club.

Zimbabwe head coach Pieter Benade confirmed the rest of the Sables squad is fit and healthy ahead of their next Nations Cup fixture against Uruguay in Ealing.