The Zimbabwe under-20 rugby team advanced to the final of the Barthes Trophy after beating Tunisia 60-6 in a semifinal held at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.
The Young Sables scored ten tries against Tunisia, with winger Edward Sigauke scoring two tries in the first half. In rugby, a try is worth five points and is scored by grounding the ball in the in-goal area of the opposing team with downward pressure. The team can then attempt a conversion kick for two additional points.
Fullback Simbarashe Kanyangarara also scored a try, and Brendon Marume added the conversions for Zimbabwe to take a 22-6 halftime lead.
In the second half, Zimbabwe dominated with 38 unanswered points, led by the midfield duo of Alex Nyamunda and Dion Khumalo. Zimbabwe is the defending champion of the Barthes Trophy. Young Sables Sables coach Shaun De Souza said after the match:
I am very happy with the result, we played just watching the rain as we knew it was going to come but I am glad our game plan worked well and we managed to contain the physical Tunisians going forward we will work on our weaknesses as we aim to defend the title nothing else in mind.
Retaining the continental title will see Zimbabwe qualify for the Junior World Cup.
Pundits echoed the coach’s sentiments saying Zimbabwe could have won by a huge margin if the young sables were not wasteful.
