Chivandire declares war against Japan

Rugby Trophy tournament here this afternoon.
The match is set for Shevardeni Stadium where the Zimbabwe Under-20 side held their last training session yesterday before this afternoon’s game.
With little separating the two sides following their 20-20 draw in their previous meeting in last year’s tournament, Chivandire said they won’t underestimate the Asians.
“We are not taking them lightly. Remember they were part of the Junior World Cup two years ago and they are still as strong so we rate them highly,” said the former District Dragons coach Chivandire.
With Zimbabwe qualifying for the JWRT for the second time in a row, Japan have been at the international tournament four times, including the Junior World Cup, from where they were relegated two years ago.
Zimbabwe are ranked fourth in Pool B, one place below Japan, with Canada being the top seeds followed by the hosts Georgia.
However, Chivandire is not looking at the statistics and believe his boys have what it takes to come out winners against the Yukio Motoki-coached side.
“The boys really look ready to go and we have worked hard for this tournament, and everyone is really positive that we are going to come out with a good result.
“We had a chance to watch and study how they play, having watched how we played them last year, the mistakes we made and I am very positive that we will come out with a (good) result in tomorrow’s (today’s) game.
“We did not have any problems acclimatising to the local conditions. It is nice and dry as we are used to playing the dry form of rugby and we have no yet accounted any wet weather.
“But it is a bit windy and that is what we are trying to adjust to,” said the former Sables coach.
“We have had a good stay that is good enough for the boys. We have been training without any problems since our arrival here and honestly everything is good for us,” he added.
The Young Sables only managed to play one preparatory match in preparation for the tournament when they faced the Under-23 Select at the Cottco schools rugby festival in Harare where they managed a 17-17 draw.
“I am happy that we have also not suffered any injuries prior to the opening game and all the 26 players are fit, we had a medical this morning and all players were certified fit,” added Chivandire
But the Japanese – backed by a lot of resources – were able to tour Scotland where they played and won all three matches that saw them beating Scotland A 33-15.
The Asians also won 34-19 against Stirling County after a convincing 45-5 thrashing of West of Scotland in their opening match of the April tour and Motoki says they are aiming at winning the tournament.
“Our main target here is to win the Junior World Rugby Trophy and gain promotion to the Junior World Championship for 2012. “The main aim of us going on tour in Scotland was to make sure that the squad gets used to each other and know how each of the players play.
“We won all the three games and we were focussed on moving forward and bringing down the ball carrier while attack was based on speed we also looked at the speed of action, decision-making and communication.
“This developed the players’ ability to act and think responsibly during the game so I believe we have a responsible team who are able to act by themselves,” said Motoki.
Probable XV
Zimbabwe Under-20
Backs: Lungile Tshuma, Kuda Chiwanza, Takura Tela, Corey van Rensburg, Justin Coles, Thomas Nelson, Charles Jiji,
Forwards: Murray Bryce-Rodgers, Tatenda Karuru, Ian Muza, Takudzwa Jaravaza, Graham Logan, Takudzwa Mandiwanza, Farai Jijita, Marco Mama.
Substitutes: Zeru Makomva Regis MutangaduraSean Joubert, Dylan Coetzee, Simba Gonese, Delroy Sibanda, Kuda Mudariki, Sean Linfield, Victor Mushoriwa, Marcus Nel.
Coach: Brighton Chivandire
Assistant: Godwin Murambiwa
Doctor: Austin Jeans
Physio: Margie Gibson
Japan Under-20
Mao Enoki, Hikaru Ishizawa, Yosuke Takahashi, Yoshikatsu Hikosaka, Hiroki Murakawa, Yusuke Niwai, Yuho Ashiya, Songchang Lee, Yoshihiro Sononaka,Jungkyu Kim, Ryota Kobayashi, Shota Mizukami, Naoyuki Tsuji, Tatsuru Owada, Olive Taufa, Keisuke Uchida, Ryutaro Yoshikawa, Masahito Imura, Ryodo Nakamura, Kojiro Fujichika, Koki Noda, Shunsuke Nunomaki, Lafaele Vaifu, Kazushi Hano, Masakatsu Hikosaka, Ken Kurosawa.
Coach: Yukio Motoki
Assistant: Masahiro Nakase
Assistant: Goshi Arimizu
Manager: Iijima Yasu