Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema, Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE will be playing for nothing more than bragging rights when they wrap up their Barthes Trophy participation with a cagey tie against Tunisia at the Mutesa II Stadium in Kampala, Uganda, this afternoon.
Both Zimbabwe and Tunisia were humbled by superior opposition last week, with the Junior Sables going down 35-23 to Kenya while the North Africans lost 11-6 to Namibia.
Now, Namibia and Kenya will tussle it out for a berth at the Junior World Trophy next year, and for a record fourth title for the winner of today’s final.
“Firstly, I want to start by saying congratulations to Kenya.
“They were the better side on the day and deserved the result,” said Zimbabwe Under-20 coach Shaun De Souza.
“From our perspective, it is obviously disappointing because we came here with such high expectations.
“I thought we showed plenty of character and never stopped fighting, but at this level, you can’t afford to give quality opposition easy opportunities.
“There were moments where we played the rugby we know we are capable of, but we were not accurate enough for long enough, and that ultimately cost us,” he said.
Zimbabwe got off to the worst possible start to their 2026 Barthes Trophy campaign as Kenya won their third straight match against the Junior Sables in last week’s semi-final.
The five-try Kenyans turned on the style from beginning to end, dismantling an error-prone Zimbabwe side that was heavily punished for unforced mistakes and a failure to finish off chances.
Kenya led 23-6 at the break through tries by winger Brian Kiptanui and inside centre Rayvon Amunga, as well as the accuracy of fullback Faran Juma with the kicking tee.
Zimbabwe flyhalf Connor Lovatt kept the Zimbabweans in the game with two penalties of his own.
Zimbabwe looked like a rejuvenated side in the early stages of the second half, reducing the arrears with a well-worked try by eighth-man Vimbiso Kasvosve from a rolling maul.
However, the Kenyans soon regrouped and regained the upper hand.
Their place in the final was assured by tries from scrumhalf Michael Andale, hooker Jibril Lugonzo and outside centre Dennis Livoi.
A last-minute try by centre Michael Chimedza came too late for Zimbabwe, coming on the last play of the match.
“I think the game was decided in the key moments,” said De Souza.
“Kenya were clinical when opportunities presented themselves, while we weren’t.
“We allowed pressure to build through errors, conceded possession too cheaply at the contact area and didn’t manage territory as well as we would have liked.
“Credit to Kenya, though.
“They were physical around the contact area, controlled the tempo well and capitalised whenever we lost discipline or accuracy,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Junior Sables have had three days to right their wrongs and will go into today’s match against Tunisia with some optimism.
De Souza and his technical team also had the chance to watch Tunisia play during their 11-6 defeat to Namibia, and he was very impressed with their showing.
“Tunisia are a very committed and physical side,” he said.
“Against Namibia, they showed they can compete for long periods, particularly through their forwards and set piece.
“And I thought they lost the game through a lack of accuracy in key moments, and Namibia were able to punish those mistakes.
“For us, the focus won’t be so much on Tunisia but on ourselves.
“If we produce an accurate 80-minute performance, execute our game plan and improve the areas we fell short in the Kenya game, we will give ourselves every chance to win the match,” he said.
The Junior Sables will take the positives from their performance against Kenya and have spent the last couple of days trying to right the ship.
“The boys showed resilience as they kept competing right until the final whistle.
“There were also periods where our attack and defensive effort reflected the identity we are trying to build.
“Consistency was our biggest undoing.
“At this level, every collision, set piece and every decision matters.
“We need to be more clinical, improve our execution under pressure and make better decisions in crucial moments.
“Those are some of the lessons we will take forward heading into the match against Tunisia,” he said.
For De Souza, the objective has not changed even though a berth for next year’s Junior World Trophy is out of the question for now.
“Every time one represents Zimbabwe, it’s an opportunity to grow the jersey and leave it in a better place,” he said.
“While qualification is no longer possible, we still have a responsibility to finish the tournament strongly, represent our country with pride and continue developing this group.
“We want to end on a positive note against Tunisia, build confidence, and ensure the experiences and lessons from this campaign help these players as they progress into senior rugby.”
