ZIMBABWE’S campaign at the 2013 Under-13 Craven Week got off to a poor start after going down 36-0 to the Golden Lions team in their opening match at Hoërskool Warmbad in the Limpopo area of Bela-Bela in South Africa yesterday.
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The local junior side, whose players were all representing the country for the very first time, got a rude awakening as they were badly exposed by the physically stronger South Africans.
Golden Lions ran in six unanswered tries through Davan du Plessis, Thuso Diyale, Tristan Dullisear, Jason Freeman, Mzilikazi Manyike and Franco Schutte. Manyike managed to convert two of the tries while Dean Lategan converted one try.
The Zimbabwe team is coached by Bryan Radimeyer with Orlando Fernandes as his assistant while the team manager is Tan Dinhindza.
After the difficult start, Zimbabwe will be hoping to bounce back strongly and register a better result in their next match.
Zimbabwe were expected to know their next opponents for today’s match late yesterday as it was determined by their result after yesterday’s match.
However, their next opponents were expected to be drawn from their eight-team pool that also includes SWD Eagles, Valke, Pumas, Griffons, Border CD Border, the Free State Cheetahs and bitter rivals Namibia.
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Meanwhile, regional rivals, Namibia, also found the going tough during yesterday’s opening matches after going down 17-0 to Mpumalanga.
The tournament, which started yesterday, runs until Friday, but the players will take a rest day tomorrow to recover from the heavy workload.
The Under-13 Craven Week tournament marks an important step in young players’ careers as they aspire to earn provincial and national honours in future.
The 2013 Under-13 Craven Week is the 42nd edition, having kicked off in Potchefstroom in 1972, eight years after the senior Craven Week started.
Zimbabwe Under-13 Squad: Joshua Allardice, Mufaro Chareka, Liam England, Tistan Evans, Justin Hammond, Robert Jameson, Milton Kachecha, Phillip Madzinga, Hilton Mambo, Victor Matarise, Ronald Mirimi, Takunda Mkaratigwa, Sean Moyo, Anotida Munyonga, Brandon Muvingi, Tinotenda Mwanza, Bradley Nenzou, Tabonga Ngonyamo, Tadiwa Nyagano, Kumbi Nyevedzanai, Dustin Pike, Simon Sharwood
