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Zimpapers Sports Hub
Zim Under-20……….. (10) 13
Kenya Under-20……..(17) 28
OUTCLASSED, outmuscled and outplayed!
That was the story of the Zimbabwe Junior Sables soon after watching their dream of another berth at the Junior World Trophy go up in flames.Zimbabwe relinquished their Barthes Trophy crown as Kenya emerged victorious 28-13 in what turned out to be a one-sided affair at Harare Sports Club’s Machinery Exchange Stadium yesterday.
While most will argue that Kenya were the better side, the truth of the matter is that the Zimbabwe Junior Sables did not show up and complacency probably played a huge part in their defeat.Skipper Benoni Nhekairo had a bad day on the field, missing two conversions and often miscuing kicks, while the usually dependable Edward Sigauke found himself neutralised as Kenya opted to use the rush defensive and deprive him the winger-cum-centre space to run and mesmerise.
The forwards were bullied for large portions of the game, while the back left no more than 14 points on the park due to either going for glory or a couple of unforced errors.
To their credit, the hosts started brightly as two quick tries by Emmanuel Gabi and Sigauke saw Zimbabwe rush to 10-nil lead.
Benoni struggled to kick against the wind and narrowly missed out on both conversions.With their tails up and the crowd singing their praises, Kenya silenced all with tries from scrumhalf Patrick Wainaina, centre Michael Wamalwa and eighth-men Iddo Kuta.
Their fullback James Olela chipped in with a conversion as Kenya went into the break with a comfortable 17-10 lead
Things didn’t change much after the breather as the East Africans extended their lead with an unconverted try by try flanker Andycole Omollow while Olela added two penalties to his tally.
Zimbabwe threw everything but the kitchen sink at their opponents but Kenya stuck to their guns and made sure the forwards hardly had any space to run.It is a strategy that worked well for them as Zimbabwe hardly ventured into their half and could only muster a penalty by Benoni during that half.
Kenya’s coach Simon Jawichre was on cloud nine after the match and paid tribute to his charges for sticking to the game plan.
“We worked hard and we stuck to the plan, that is all I can say,” said Jawichre.“We knew we were going to be under a lot of pressure, Zimbabwe was going to try to run at us and so we had to close the lines quickly.
“I told the boys to play as much as possible in the opposition half and send the ball out wide when we have position.
“The strategy worked most of the time and that is what gave us the win today.“Credit to Zimbabwe, they are a brilliant side and the game could have gone either way,” he said.
Zimbabwe coach Shaun De Souza cut the figure of a defeated man as he watched his side’s dream of another berth at the Junior World Trophy in Scotland disappear.“We knew it was going to be a tough encounter and Kenya came out ready to play,” said the Junior Sables gaffer.
“They were very physical, very dominant on the tackle situation and deservedly won the game.“We have a very young team and I think we were outsized and outplayed.“Now, we just have to go back to the drawing board, review our performances during this term and start planning for the next,” he said.
Online Reporter