Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE Under-20 rugby coach Shaun De Souza has over the last couple of weeks got a lot of flak for his teams’ dismal performance at the Just-ended World Schools Festival that was held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The tour that was held in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, saw De Souza’s Junior Sables and High Performance teams register just one victory out of a possible seven matches.
The Junior Sables lost all their matches, going down to TSC (12-22), Paul Roos 2 (15-28), Saint Kentigem (0-64), and Nasinu Secondary (27-31).
The High Performance team beat USRA Select from Uganda 49-10 but lost to Paul Roos 1 (3-12) and Nasinu Secondary (8-15)
However, the Junior Sables gaffer, who carried an under-19 team for his Junior Sables outfit, has rubbished all the negative comments as he believes that the main objectives of the tour went far and beyond just results.
According to De Souza, the decision to participate in the festival was guided by long-term high-performance objectives of Zimbabwe Rugby.
The Abu Dhabi tour was designed to provide international exposure to Zimbabwe’s top Under-19 players in the country.
It was also meant to benchmark individual and team performances against elite global school rugby programmes and, hopefully, accelerate player development through sustained high-intensity competition.
This would then strengthen the national player pipeline toward the Under-20 Junior Sables, future age-grade teams, the Cheetahs franchise and, ultimately, the Senior Sables.
With all that taken into consideration, De Souza believes that the tour itself was a huge success.
“This tour was about far more than results,” he said.
“It was about facing reality and it gave our players a genuine international platform, exposed them to elite standards, gave us key coaching focus points and work-ons.
“It also opened doors for education, scholarships, and future opportunities.
“Most importantly, it validated our Grassroots to Greatness pathway — building depth from Under-18 through to the Under-19 and Under-20,” he said.
From a coaching perspective, the tour also opened De Souza’s eyes as he came back with plenty of lessons and key takeaways.
This is crucial considering the fact the tournament featured elite opposition from New Zealand, England, Fiji, South Africa, and Uganda, most of whom have superior rugby programmes.
“The players were exposed to faster ruck speed and increased decision-making tempo and matches that need higher skill execution under sustained pressure,” he said.
“The environment provided an authentic benchmark for players competing for progression into the Under-20 Junior Sables and the 2026 Barthes Trophy squad.
“Beyond competition, the tour also created valuable opportunities for networking with rugby institutions, players and coaches across multiple countries.
“We got the opportunity to explore future fixtures and coaching collaborations; this is on top of strengthening Zimbabwe’s position within the global rugby community,” he said.
De Souza added that the Abu Dhabi tour laid a strong foundation for expanded international exposure for the country’s Under-18, 19, and 20 programmes.
