adminlong periods.
However, it was a bright day for Zimbabwe whose B side, who were fielded in the competition after replacing Uganda, chalked a 27-14 win over Zambia.
But most of the attention was on the Young Sables, who are aiming to make it their fourth title in a row, and their biggest threat Namibia put up a very strong display to thrash Tunisia 44-7 in another Pool A game.
This means that the Young Sables are second on the Pool A standings behind Namibia but the Young Sables take on Tunisia in their next game on Wednesday.
Chivandire, however, believes his boys are going to improve.
“Kenya were out to play and they capitalised on our mistakes but I am sure we will be a more improved side as we have a number of days to prepare for our next game.
“I was not impressed with the way we played but the good thing is that at the end of the day we managed to come out with a win which, I believe, will serve as a morale booster to the side.
“As always, the first game is the most difficult and you cannot really tell how the opponents play, all the teams will definitely improve with the next game because they would also have watched their next rivals playing,” said Chivandire.
The former Sables coach was, however, impressed with how the Harare Select side fared, given that they only had three days to prepare for the tournament after Uganda pilled out due to financial constrains.
“I am very impressed with the way the Select side played because they had very little time to prepare for the games as they went on to win their encounter with a quiet comfortable margin.
“The good thing about this side is that it is more of preparing Zimbabwe’s future Young Sables. especially in the two-year range to come, and we need to play as many young players and expose them to international games,” added Chivandire.
While Chivandire was not happy with the way his boys played against Kenya, coach Paul Murunga said he was actually surprised with the way his charges responded.
“It was too close but unfortunately at the end of the game there only is one winner but the boys played above what I expected despite us making a lot of mistakes — that came because of lapses in concentration and poor defence in the second half.
“We allowed Zimbabwe to get back into the game but I am happy that the boys played above my expectations because we have just been promoted into Pool A from Pool B and Zimbabwe are the defending champions so it was always going to be a tough challenge for us.
“Tunisia and Namibia are equally going to be tough but we will give our all because our main aim is to remain in Pool A and build from there
Online Reporter