Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira
[email protected]
THE Young Sables retained the Rugby Africa Barthes Trophy title after they managed to get a 26-7 victory over the host nation Kenya in the final played yesterday at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.
Having won the last edition of the competition unbeaten, the Shaun De Souza-coached Young Sables repeated the same feat after winning all their matches in this year’s competition.
On their way to the final, the Panashe Zuze-captained Zimbabwe defeated Tunisia 60-6 in the semi-finals while the host nation won 24-13 over Namibia in the other last four encounter. In the quarter-final, Zimbabwe thumped Ivory Coast 55-0.
Kenya’s win over Namibia last Wednesday saw Zimbabwe qualify 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.
The World Rugby Under-20 Trophy is the second tier competition below the main competition the World Rugby Under-20 Championship which is also returning for the first time since Covid-19 and will be hosted by South Africa from June 24 to July 14.
The Zimbabwean team has received support from the Government and they were hosted by President Mnangagwa at State House prior to their departure for Kenya.
Some of the companies that have partnered with the Junior Sables in their journey are Nedbank Zimbabwe, ProTyre Fitment Centre, Phero Steel, FX Logistics, Firstlink Insurance Brokers, Work2BeWell and more can still come on board to ensure flawless preparations and continuous development. The age-group teams are the future of any sport and it is important to support them. -@innocentskizoe
derick.khumalo