Story by Raynald Ngwarati
THE Zimbabwe under 20 Rugby Team, the Junior Sables are not sitting on their laurels despite outwitting Tunisia on Saturday as they eye to seal qualification for the Junior World Trophy.
The Zimbabwe under 20 Rugby Team are looking at polishing their act in the remaining fixtures of the Barthes Cup despite a dominant showing against Tunisia at Harare Sports Club on Saturday.
The lads who are set to go back in the hunt on Wednesday have identified their shortfalls in order to serve the best rugby to their home fans as the tournament progresses.
“We’re a third into the task, we’ve definitely achieved our first step and the next is Namibia then Kenya, but I think that with the team we have we definitely can achieve a third title. The victory is a bonus we have high expectations from what we put in in camp. The boys still seem disappointed with the way they performed as a group, we expected more but I think the pressure is now off our shoulders they have had a runout on home ground with all the supporters. The nerves are now gone and the next thing is to play to the best of our abilities,” said Junior Sables coach, Shaun de Souza.
With the hunger shown by the team, the head coach, Shaun de Souza, believes that it is high time the players get recognised as professionals representing the country.
“The biggest thing we need now is an outcry to the, corporates, the sports commission and the ministry to incentivise these guys. The tournament is a qualifier to the Junior World Trophy and incentives will definitely go a long way in motivating the boys,” added de Sousa.
The Junior Sables are the reigning Barthes Cup champions, having won the competition twice in a row prior to this year’s edition and they will be looking to making it thrice with the right support.
