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Harare Select first beat Zambia 27-14 in their opening game of the tournament last Saturday and on Wednesday that Harare Select put up a strong showing in the second half to thrash Morocco 38-8 having led 8-5 at half time.
The Young Sables put up a much polished performance for a 42-0 hiding of Tunisia having struggled with an unconvincing 13-10 over Kenya last Saturday.
While the Young Sables are playing for a slot at the JWRT, there is more to winning Pool B for Harare Select as this has set up a perfect platform for some of the fringe players to prove that they have what it takes to make it to the Young Sables.
However, for the technical team and Zimbabwe Rugby Union as a whole, the withdrawal of Uganda came as a blessing as they have a chance to develop players for future tournaments including the 2013 edition of the JWRT.
“We have to take advantage of such happenings and to us this is a chance to expose the players that we have to international rugby and we are not only looking at this tourney but grooming them for the future,” said Harare Select coach Cyprian “Supa” Mandenge.
Initially eight national teams were expected to take part in the event with the Junior World Rugby Trophy qualifying Pool A comprising Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Kenya and Namibia.
Pool B was set to have Uganda, Zambia, Madagascar and Morocco but the East Africans withdrew at the last minute due to financial constraints and had to be replaced by a Zimbabwean side to even up the teams.
Sables top class assistant coach Mandenge did not hesitate to take charge of the side despite the short notice but he managed to assemble a team that is yet to suffer defeat in the tournament.
Of cause there is a lot of attention being given to the Young Sables as they are playing to qualify for the Junior World Rugby Trophy tournament set for Chile next year but Harare Select have proven that Zimbabwe has got talent.
Harare Select’s performance in the tournament will not have an impact on the national teams but the fact that they are displaying what Zimbabwe is made up of shows that the hosts have a lot of raw talent.
The Harare Select side is on top of Pool B standings with 10 points from two games as they have collected both winning points and bonus points in both games and are closely followed by Madagascar with 9 points from the same number of games.
And these are the two sides that are set to meet in the Pool B final as the main curtain raiser to the Young Sables Junior Africa Cup final against Namibia on Saturday at Prince Edward School.
In Pool A the Young Sables are on second position, a point behind former champions Namibia who they have to beat in the final tomorrow if they are to get the sole ticket for the JWRT 2013.
Both side are yet to taste defeat but it is the side that falls tomorrow that will not have a chance to leave the shores of Africa to represent the continent next year.
Results
Pool A : Namibia 44, Tunisia 7; Zimbabwe 13, Kenya 10 ; Namibia 39, Kenya 11 ; Zimbabwe 42, Tunisia 0
Pool B : Madagascar 39, Morocco 17; Harare Select 27, Zambia 14 ; Madagascar 18, Zambia 5 ; Harare Select 38, Morocco 8.
Tomorrow’s Fixtures : Morocco v Zambia, Tunisia v Kenya, Harare Select v Madagascar, Zimbabwe v Namibia.
Current Standings
Pool A
P W L D PF PA BPts Pts
Namibia 2 2 0 0 83 18 2 10
Zimbabwe 2 2 0 0 55 10 1 9
Kenya 2 0 2 0 21 52 1 1
Tunisia 2 0 2 0 7 86 0 0
Pool B
P W L D F A BPts Pts
Harare Select 2 2 0 0 65 22 2 10
Madagascar 2 2 0 0 57 22 1 9
Zambia 2 0 2 0 19 45 0 1
Morocco 2 0 2 0 25 77 0 0
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