ZIMBABWE U20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(6) 22 FIJI U20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (30) 42
Zimbabwe’s disappointing World Rugby Under-20 Trophy campaign crumbled further after the Young Sables suffered yet another defeat and this time to a resolute Fiji side at Harare Sports Club yesterday.
BY KENNEDY NYAVAYA
The Young Sables paid the price for yet another error-riddled display in the scrappy encounter giving the impression that they learnt nothing from defeats to Samoa and Uruguay in this tournament.
The Brendon Brider-coached side’s shaky defence line allowed four tries by the visitors with a sole try from skipper Connor Pritchard, their only response as they trailed 30-6 going into the breather.
The team virtually failed to perform as a compact unit, displaying poor ball-handling skills, miscalculated lineouts, weak scrummaging as well as missing vital tackles. The backline failed to ensure a smooth flow of the ball in their runs while the forwards were on many occasions sucked in on rucks and could not execute basic skills.
Young Sables assistant coach Farai Mahari attributed the mistakes to the pressure of playing at home at a competitive level.
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“The challenge is we are playing at home and we haven’t been at this level in five years now and it is a different level, there is a lot of pressure,” Mahari said. “We made too many mistakes, but we were in the game and that is the story of this tournament. So I think as much as we do physical exercises we need to do mental exercises because clearly we were struggling to stay focused on the task at hand,” said Mahari.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were a continuation of the poor show in the first.
The team’s lack of expert kickers worked against them as they failed to take advantage of the many fouls committed by Fiji, who had players binned in both halves. The entry of the aggressive pair of tight head prop Justin Mendelson and utility forward Daniel Nyamugama changed the game although it was well beyond retrieval.
Mendelson, who slotted in the last try for Zimbabwe after Kudakwashe Ndoro’s opener for the home side, briefly resuscitated hopes in a visibly disenchanted crowd.
The Young Sables will go back to the drawing board to try and fix the problems ahead of their last encounter against Hong Kong, where they will be seeking to avoid finishing last.
