By Kudakwashe Kutinyo
Zimbabwe Junior sables under 20 are ready to defend the Barthes Trophy which will be played in Capital at the Harare Sports Club.
The tournament is slated for 18 to 29 April with a total of four nations taking part which include hosts Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Kenya and Namibia.
Speaking during an interview Co-captain Benoni Nhekiro highlighted that signs of positive energy are rocking the junior sables camp and that they are aware of the pressure that is on their shoulders.
"We are pretty sure the pressure is there and we are trying to impress the fans, our families who will be coming over to watch us live. I am also backing the boys because they are putting in some training in the gym, ground and also enquiring to the coaches to identify their problem area so as to perfect the weakness", he said.
The Junior sables under 20 team had a surprise visit of world cup winner and springbok star Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira who equipped the boys with some deep knowledge of scumming, kickoff and line outs.
Another junior sables co-captain Tawananyasha Bwanya applauded the inclusion of junior players in into team and reflected that this could bring more competiton in the 32 man squad.
"This year we have a young team and you can see that these boys are hungry, fighting for the jersey and that competition builds good game within us. Going into the competition that will be really helpful and we are very confident", added Bwanya.
The first match will be Kenya against Namibia at 14:00 followed by match 2 were hosts Zimbabwe will face Tunisia at 16:00pm.
Match day 2, Kenya will face Tunisia at 14:00pm, while later Zimbabwe will take on neighbours Namibia at 16:00pm.
On match day 3 Namibia is scheduled for Tunisia at 14:00 and the host nation Zimbabwe who are also the tournament favourites will play against Kenya at 16:00pm.
Zimbabwe young sables under 20 won the prestigious trophy in their last edition of the Barthes Trophy by edging past Namibia 19-14 in the final.
