Dion Khumalo interview: The Zimbabwe & Cobras star chasing a World Cup dream

By Joe Santamaria

At the time of our interview, Zimbabwe international Dion Khumalo was still able to measure his time as a professional rugby player in days: eight of them to be precise.

Having helped the Sables reach their first World Cup since 1991, the 23-year-old centre is embarking on a new journey in South America with Super Rugby Americas side Cobras Brasil Rugby.

Already an important player for the national team, his start in the sport feels like a distant memory.

“My family didn’t have a background in sports, but I really wanted to be a sprinter,” he said

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From sprinting dreams to rugby roots

“I used to race for my primary school and then my teacher asked if I wanted to try rugby. He told me ‘just take the ball and put it down over there’, and surprisingly it went well.”

Whether the result of his raw athletic ability or a masterclass in simple coaching, Khumalo clearly had a knack for the sport. In fact, his biggest early obstacle had nothing to do with matters on the pitch.

“My mom wasn’t a fan of rugby,” Khumalo continues. “When she first saw it, she said, ‘Oh no, not for my son. It’s too dangerous.’

“Eventually, she even spoke to the coach, saying she didn’t want me playing rugby. But things changed when I made the Harare provincial team for a tournament.

“Suddenly she was like, ‘My son is in a provincial rugby team?’” 

With his mother now firmly onside, Khumalo joined the prestigious Prince Edward School, which has produced numerous Zimbabwe internationals in the past.

By 17, he was involved in junior international rugby for the first time.

Reality check on the world stage

The trajectory seemed to be heading in only one direction, but Khumalo is all too aware of the sport’s ability to deliver rude awakenings.

“Before the U20 World Trophy, we played a tournament in Canada with Uruguay, Canada and Chile,” he said. “We only lost to Uruguay.

“At the U20 World Trophy, our group had Scotland, Uruguay, USA and Kenya. Scotland beat us heavily – it was a completely different level of rugby than I had experienced before.”

Senior coaches were taking a keen interest in Khumalo and he was quickly invited onto the sevens programme.

Khumalo reflects on how steep the learning curve this period of his career proved to be.

Barely out of his teens, he lacked the confidence to express himself on the pitch and off it. Alongside rugby, he chose to study accountancy in Botswana.

It was there that he first received a call-up to the Zimbabwe senior side: “[Zimbabwe head coach Pieter Benade] called me and said, ‘What do you think about playing for the Sables this year?’

“At that time, I was 21. I said, ‘Why not? Let me give it a shot.’”

Africa Cup breakthrough

For a player struggling to come out of his shell on the sevens circuit, he took to senior international rugby straight away.

Within weeks of his debut in 2024, Khumalo and his teammates were celebrating their first Rugby Africa Cup trophy since 2012.

Even for the young centre, it was clear that something was building within the group, even if the wider world hadn’t realised it yet.

“When I joined the men’s team, I could feel the vibe among the boys,” he says. “The chemistry and bond we had made it feel like we were going somewhere.

“After we won the [2024] Africa Cup, we asked ourselves: What can stop us from qualifying for the World Cup?

“We believed in each other and believed we could do it.”

Ending the wait

If the team were to break with recent history and qualify for their first World Cup since 1991, they would have to back up their 2024 success in 2025, when the tournament doubled up as the qualification pathway.

For that to happen, they would have to overcome perennial champions Namibia.

Not only did they manage it, but their 30-28 victory proved to be one of the most thrilling matches in the tournament’s history.

“For us, it was something big,” Khumalo insists. “We wanted to make a statement. It wasn’t just for myself or my teammates – it was for everyone in Zimbabwe.

“We managed to qualify for the World Cup and break the chain from 1991 to 2025.”

Leading the Sables

On a personal note, 2025 was also the year Khumalo captained his country for the first time, aged just 22.

Khumalo’s face lights up when he recalls his mother’s reaction to hearing the news: “She asked me, ‘Where’s [regular captain] Hilton [Mudariki]?’”

In Mrs Khumalo’s defence, her son was about to captain his country in a sport she had tried to forbid him to play.

One can hardly blame her for having to check the details.

Khumalo had been busy preparing for the upcoming Nations Cup in Zimbabwe when the offer came in from São Paulo.

A leap into the unknown

While he was tempted to jump at the prospect of a professional deal, he confesses the decision wasn’t as easy as many would have expected.

“I hesitated at first,“ he admitted. “Zimbabwe’s setup has improved a lot recently.

“We now train in a high-performance centre, the gym sessions are more frequent, nutrition is better – everything has changed, so leaving that environment was a big decision.

“Super Rugby Americas is very competitive, and as a 23-year-old centre heading toward a World Cup, I felt I needed a different dimension of rugby.

“I needed to challenge myself and see if I could swim in deeper water.”

Making his mark

Khumalo has already debuted for his new side in an impressive cameo off the bench against defending champions Peñarol, setting up a try after a powerful burst towards the line.

He followed it up with a muscular display from the start against one of the tournament’s best sides, Pampas.

Standing a little over six feet and weighing over 100kg, Khumalo’s physicality is his point of difference.

While Cobras fans can look forward to the sight of their new powerhouse punching holes, Khumalo’s decision is as much about adding new elements to his game as it is about showing off his existing ones.

“I want to learn everything I can here and improve my game,” he said. “My goal is to give Cobras my best performances and help the team succeed. We want to put Cobras back on the map.”

Khumalo’s arrival means he is the first Zimbabwean ever to play in Super Rugby Americas – a small piece of history entirely his own.

Bigger ambitions

When it comes to making more history in the future, he is keen to share it with his teammates, especially his fellow Sables internationals.

“Our goal and our dream was qualification,” Khumalo concludes. “Now the mindset has changed.

“We’re not going to the World Cup just to make up the numbers.

We want to compete and make other teams uncomfortable. We want to win games and make history for Zimbabwe.”

The challenges ahead are significant, but so were the ones that Khumalo and co have already overcome.

For now, he is looking to make his mark in South America. After that, he has Australia on his mind.

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