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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
THIS was supposed to be a close contest but Zimbabwe’s Junior Sables made a mockery of their semifinal opponents Tunisia Under-20 as they ran out 60-6 victors and sealed their place in the final of the Under-20 Barthes Trophy in Kenya.
The Zimbabweans marched towards the defence of their African Under-20 rugby title with a masterful display which saw them plundering 10 tries from six different players while conceding none, for the second game running.
Edward Sigauke, Muzuva Gutu, Simbarashe Kanyangarara and the impressive Alex Nyamunda scored a brace of tries each while Brendon Jameson and Tanaka Chinyanga also touched own late on in the game.
The team could have won by an even bigger margin had Brendon Marume been more precise with his boot under the wet conditions at the Nyayo National Stadium, following an afternoon downpour in Nairobi.
The Zimbabwe Under-20 rugby coach Shaun De Souza was impressed by his team’s performance.
“The win was great,” he said.
“Everything went to plan, including the timing of the weather prediction. Obviously, we are happy for the results as a team.
“The players stood up; yes, our number 10 Brendon Marume didn’t have his kicking boots on today but we still kept the scoreboard moving,” said De Souza.
The Junior Sables will play hosts Kenya in the final on Sunday after the East Africans dismissed last year’s finalists Namibia 24-13 in another semi-final played later in the day yesterday.
Sigauke had the team in the lead in the first 15 minutes after landing Zimbabwe’s first two tries, which Marume, however, failed to convert.
The Zimbabwe Under-20 side still went to the breather leading 22-6, thanks to two more tries from Gutu and Kanyangarara, with Marume converting one of them.
Gutu completed his brace soon after the interval. Zimbabwe added to their tally 44 more points unanswered in the second half, after taking total control in the second half.
It was more of a continuation of their fine run of form as the defending champions had gotten off to a good start in the tournament when they thrashed Cote d’Ivoire 55-0 in the opening match last Saturday.
But this particular semifinal was supposed to be a close contest, at least on paper, as the teams last year were involved in a close encounter at the tournament, with Zimbabwe edging out their opponents 19-18 in the quarterfinals.
The Tunisians had obviously aimed to hit back at the Southern Africans after defeating Madagascar 54-16 in the quarter finals in their opening match this year.
But the script penned out in favour of the Zimbabwe team, who dominated possession for most of the time with players such as Panashe Zuze dictating the pace.
“It’s all about planning,” said De Souza.
“We analysed their quarterfinal match (against Madagascar) and put a plan together. We focused on our strengths and strategised the way we would use our personnel to keep the momentum, which worked well for us today.”
The Junior Sables have been playing with a well-organised defence at the tournament. They haven’t conceded a try in two games and the points for Tunisia came from penalties yesterday.
“Defense is one of the areas I focus on,” said De Souza.
“We have adjusted our defensive system this year, so we are still fine tuning it. It has done well so far, but there is always room for improvement.”
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