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Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
THE good news for rugby coach Shaun de Souza and his merry band of Zimbabwe Under-20 players is that they will walk into Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya, for the Barthes Trophy final knowing full well that the hardest part of the 2023 campaign is done and dusted.
The Junior Sables cruised to today’s final, courtesy of 66-6 mauling of Tunisia.
They will now play the hosts, who twice came from behind to sink bitter rivals Namibia 24-13 during Wednesday’s semi-final. Victory for both teams meant that Zimbabwe and Kenya qualified for the World Rugby Under-20 Trophy, which the Kenyans will once again host from July 15 to 30.
This is because the top team from the Barthes tourney and the hosts qualify for the global showcase.
Zimbabwe, who arrived at this year’s tournament as the defending champions, will go into today’s final seeking to retain the silverware.
It would be double celebration for the Junior Sables, who have already cast one eye on preparations for the much toucher World Under-20 Trophy tourney, which will be an eight-team competition that includes Scotland, Uruguay, Spain, Samoa, Hong Kong, hosts Kenya and the winner in a play-off match between Canada and the United States.
De Souza and his charges will be playing for bragging rights and the distinction of defending the Barthes Trophy.
“The fact that we have qualified for the Junior World Trophy has just made the task a little easier,” said De Souza.
“We can still return here for the Junior World Trophy, even if we lose and come in second, but we came here for a job.
“Zimbabwe doesn’t get a lot of international games, and this tournament serves the purpose of helping us prepare for the Junior World Trophy.”
Zimbabwe have been impressive.
They are undefeated and yet to concede a try after clinical displays against Cote d’Ivoire, whom they thumped 55-0, and Tunisia.
With the exception of flyhalf Brendan Marume, who struggled with his kicking, the Junior Sables have been looking like a near-perfect outfit in both defence and offence.
The forwards have done most of the heavy-lifting. In games against Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia, they were only breached via a drop goal and a penalty, which Tunisia’s flyhalf Ahmed Riahi converted. “Not conceding a try during the quarter-finals and semis is a bonus.
“We pride ourselves in our defence and one of my philosophies is ‘defence, defence, defence’. “We really wanted to improve from last year’s system. I changed and modified it a little bit and it is has worked well for us.
“We just have to polish it up in a few areas and make sure the guys don’t lose concentration when we are playing in the final,” said De Souza. The team were given a day off to celebrate before resuming training on Friday in preparation for today’s game.
The goal of the twin training sessions was to iron out any inks in the line-outs, set pieces and kick-starts.
The match pitting Cote d’Ivoire and Zambia to decide positions five and six will open the proceedings, while losing semi-finalists Tunisia and Namibia square up for positions three and four. The last two placement spots will be contested by Uganda and Madagascar.
After the tournament, focus will shift to the World Under-20 Championships and the Under-20 Trophy. Both tournaments are expected to make their return for the first time in three years following a Covid-19 hiatus.
According to World Rugby, the Under-20 Championships will be played over five match days in Stellenbosch, Paarl and Wellington (Cape Town). The teams that will participate at the championships include Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and Wales.
Online Reporter