adminmatch of the Junior Africa Cup tournament at Prince Edwards this afternoon.
Having won the last two editions of the event by beating Namibia twice in a row, Zimbabwe are tipped to overpower Uganda in the main game of the day and winning the tournament will see the Young Sables become the first side to do so three times in a row.
In front of their home crowd, with a lot of experienced players ,the Young Sables cannot afford to lose to a side they have beaten twice in the last two years.
Coach Brighton Chivandire believes this is a different challenge.
Zimbabwe and Namibia have been dominating the tournament but the Young Sables have been the best junior rugby side in Africa and they would like to start their defence on a winning note against Uganda this afternoon.
Team manager Robert Bwali is confident his side will cause an upset and silence the Zimbabwe crowd despite having fallen to the Young Sables in the recent years.
Uganda are pinning their hopes on experienced winger Justin Kimono who was with their senior rugby side when they lost 15-22 to the Sables in the Africa Cup Pool B tournament in Uganda last month.
And it was in this game that the junior player scored two tries and was also responsible for a concussion on winger Tangai Nemadire when the two clashed midway in the game.
“We are trying to keep the boys focused first on the game against Zimbabwe. We have lost to Zimbabwe in the past two tournaments and we can’t afford to make it three defeats in a row.
“We are not only looking at winning against Zimbabwe but we want to make that it’s a stepping stone to all the games that are coming as we would like to win the tournament because that is our main aim.
“The good thing about this year’s tournament is that we managed to know our opponents a long time before we travelled compared to the other tournaments where we would know our opponents on arrival. “We practiced knowing who we were going to face in the tournament before we came to Zimbabwe, we know the kind of game Zimbabwe play and so I am sure we will step up and put a good show,” said Bwala.
Like Zimbabwe, Bwala said, Uganda had been training with their senior side who were taking parting the Elogan and Victoria Cups and he believes this has seen their game going up.
“We have the depth, we have been training with the national team so we know what it takes to be a good side and that is what we have here.” Bwala said Kimono could make the difference.
“He is the one driving the team at the moment. He has experience with the national team as he has played a couple of games in the regional tournaments. He has experience and maturity,” said Bwala.
However, Young Sables coach Brighton Chivandire thinks they have a different challenge from last year. “This whole tournament is a new challenge to us because it has been a year since we last played any of these teams and I am sure the new format is going to make it even tougher this year. “We trained with the Sables and that was good because it took our game as close to their level as we could and that is good for
us going into this tournament,” said the former Sables coach.
Zimbabwe U-19 Squad
Backs: James Forrester, Marcus Nel (fullbacks), Justin Coles, Denham Zimbudzana, Mclean Muhambi, Richarrd Morkel, Preston Bryant (centres), Lenience Tambwera, Shane Linfield (flyhalves), Michale Mcintosh, Robert Sargeant (scrumhalves).
Forwards: Murray Bryce-Rodgers, Delroy Sibanda, Joshua Smallbones, Kudakwashe Makuvire, T. Ndaba (props), Zulu, Mathew Mandioma (hookers), Graham Logan, Michael Sinclair (locks), Chigumbira, Daniel Rorke, Farai Jijita, Tapiwa Tsomondo (flanks).
Today’s Fixtures
Kenya v Zambia (1100am), Namibia v Tunisia (1230pm), Morocco v Madagascar (2pm), Zimbabwe v Uganda (3.30pm).
Online Reporter