THE Old Mutual Zimbabwe Under-16 side produced a gritty performance as they returned to winning ways, with a 49-0 victory over Border Country Districts in their second match at the U-16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week at Grey College in Bloemfontein, South Africa, yesterday.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO IN BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA
After a disappointing 71-19 loss to a strong Free State side on the opening day of the five-day rugby festival, the young side was under immense pressure going into yesterday’s encounter.
And they certainly made a strong statement against a struggling Border CD side after running in eight unanswered tries to seal a morale-boosting win ahead of tomorrow’s Test match against Namibia.
St George’s College full-back, Rukudzo Munyeza led the charge for the Zimbabwean side, with a brilliant hat-trick of tries in the first half, before adding another one after the break.
The other tries came through man of the match, Tinomukudza Chipfumbu, Kuda Makoni, Cole Onorati and Takudzwa Madzivanzira, while Munyeza managed two conversions.
Old Mutual Zimbabwe U16 coach, Marvin Chirume said he was happy that his charges had worked on their mistakes from the Free State defeat.
“The first match was always going to be difficult, but I’m happy that we were able come back and play the second match as we did, it’s actually very encouraging,” he said.
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Marume said he was hopeful his charges would continue with the momentum when they face perennial nemesis Namibia.
“We hope we can carry on with the momentum to Friday’s international fixture against Namibia, who are a very tough team. They play an expansive game just like us, but they’re also very physical and well conditioned so we will have to be at our best,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s U13 rugby side will also be eager to bounce back to winning ways when they take on their Namibian counterparts in their third match today.
The Gordon Pangeti-coached side opened their campaign with a comfortable 41-0 win over Border Country Districts before succumbing to a 66-7 defeat to Leopards on Tuesday.
