De Souza back in the laboratory

Harare Bureau
ZIMBABWE Junior Sables coach Shaun De Souza has no qualms about the Junior World Trophy (rugby) being held in Kenya, especially the East African nation’s Nyayo Stadium.

In fact, the seasoned gaffer views the choice of venue and host nation, which was announced prior to last weekend’s Barthes Trophy, a blessing in disguise. He believes Nyayo Stadium has become a second home to his charges.

“I feel fortunate that the Junior World Trophy is being held in Kenya. We have now played there twice, we are now familiar with the conditions and surroundings, and, more importantly, we have now built a somewhat good relationship with Kenya on-and-off the field.

“Our brotherhood as teams is likely going to bind us, in this event, as we are going to be the two African nations. I am sure the Kenyans are going to come and rally behind Zimbabwe, as they also support their team, as we have won over their hearts during the two Barthes Trophy we competed in over the last two years,” he said.

“Fortuitous” is one of the words that has been used to describe Kenya hosting the Junior World Trophy, which has been pencilled in for July 15-30. It gave Zimbabwe, arguably one of the easiest passages into the global second-tier tournament at the Under-20 level, as the Junior Sables punched their ticket to the event when they made it into the final after dispatching Tunisia 66-6 during their semi-final clash.

Kenya then took Namibia off the board after their 24-13 come-back win. This set up a cup final showdown between Zimbabwe and Kenya with the Junior Sables emerging 28-7 victors.

De Souza revealed that he had been done with celebrations and now working on preparations for the Junior World Trophy.

Zimbabwe will open Junior World Trophy campaign with a date against Scotland on July 15. And, the 45-year-old gaffer has already started planning for that game as he keeps tabs on not only the European nation but all the other six teams that will take part in the tournament.

“The Junior World Trophy is totally new, something we haven’t ventured into before. We were fortunate enough last year to be given the opportunity to play in the Canada invitational tournament, where we also met Uruguay and Chile.”