ZRU throw weight behind Young Sables

ZIMBABWE Rugby Union (ZRU) vice-president Martin Shone has thrown full weight behind the Young Sables who begin their World Rugby Under-20 campaign which gets underway in Kenya on Saturday. They begin the tournament with a date against Scotland.

Their group also has the United States of America and Uruguay.

“We have tried our best to make sure the boys are ready to compete at this level. The coaches have been working with the boys for some time now and we feel they are capable of beating anyone at the tournament. Competing at this tournament is proof of how our development programmes are paying off,” said Shone.

Eight teams are expected to converge on Nyayo National Stadium and slug it out for the sole ticket to advance to the World Rugby Under-20 Championship finals.

The eight teams – Scotland, Uruguay, USA, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Spain, Samoa, Hong Kong have been placed into two groups of four teams with each team playing three games.

The top teams from each group will then meet in the final with the winner gaining promotion into the more glamourous World Rugby Under-20 Cup finals.

Zimbabwe sealed their slot at the tournament in April after an emphatic 60-6 win against Tunisia in the semi-finals of the Rugby Africa Barthes Under-20 Trophy.

This followed on from an earlier 55-0 win against Ivory Coast.

With the other finalists, Kenya, already qualified because of their status as host nation, reaching the final was sufficient to ensure the Young Sables would be Africa’s second team at the World Rugby Under-20 Trophy.

But the Young Sables were not content with just qualifying, they had an African Under-20 title to defend and they went on to beat Kenya, 28-7, at a packed Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.

-@innocentskizoe