adminTonderai Chigumbura, Lenience Tambwera and Mathew Mandioma are some of the foreign-based players who have already arrived in the country but according to coach Brighton Chivandire, most of them will arrive at the weekend.
“These three are some of the players that have arrived from abroad but the bulk of them will be in at the weekend.
“Those that are coming in at the weekend are still writing exams in their respective universities and colleges and they will be available at the break (starting this weekend),” said the former Old Georgians coach.
The Young Sables are expected to leave the country next Wednesday for Mpumalanga, South Africa, where they will play their first game on the seventh of April as they hope to get a taste of foreign competition.
Chivandire yesterday indicated that the games they will play in South Africa will also serve as a selection platform for the side that will travel to the United States for the Junior World Rugby trophy in June.
Zimbabwe will travel to South Africa with a squad of 40 players and it is from this squad that coach Chivandire and his assistant Godwin “Jaws” Murambiwa will come up with the final 32.
Chivandire and Murambiwa have also been joined by South African coach Nico De Villiers who will be assisting the Young Sables in preparing for the tour as he is a specialised strength and conditioning coach and also a forwards coach.
However, the final travelling party for the JWRT will only be named towards the departure to the United States where six players will be non-travelling reserves while 26 will be in the final squad.
“We will be travelling to South (Africa) with a squad of 40 players from which we will trim the side down to 32 and it is from this 32 that we will decide who will be travelling and who the six non-travelling reserves are,” said the former Sables coach.
Over the past years, the Young Sables have not had the priviledge of playing meaningful games in preparation for the world tournament and last year they had to resort to playing a Harare Province Under-23 select side that included the likes of former Young Sables Daniel Robertson and Andrew Rose.
But talks and negotiations between and among the Zimbabwe Rugby Union Under-20 committee and the International Rugby Board saw Zimbabwe getting the much-needed assistance in preparation for the tournament.
This is not the first time Zimbabwe is going to represent Africa at the JWRT having done so in the past two years where their results were something the technical team were not pleased with as they have never finished in the top half of the eight-team tournament.
Young Sables Squad
M Bryce Rogers, T Chieza, T Chigumbura, S Chirara, T Chowe, D Coetzee, J Coles, D Diza, J Forrester, S Hunduza, F Jijita, S Joubert, A Kamkwindo, T Kavhengha, M Lawson, S Linfield, G Logan, S Lupuwana, K Makuvire, M Mandiona, M McIntosh, G Meikle, R Morkel, H Mudarike, M Muhambi, D Mupfurutsa, V Mushoriwa, Ian Muza, T Ndaba, T Ndudzo, M Nel, D Rorke, R Sargeant, W Seremani, D Sibanda, M Sinclair, J Smallbones, L Tamwera, T Toriro, T Tsomondo, A van Heerden, C van Rensburg, D Zimbudzana, F Zimoto, P Bryant, J Zulu.
Online Reporter