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Curtworth Masango

THE Zimbabwe Junior Sables fringe players will get one last chance to impress and put their hands up for selection when they face a hastily-assembled Zimbabwe A side in a rugby encounter at Belgravia Sports Club this afternoon.

The scrimmage match is part of the national Under-20 side’s preparations for next week’s Barthes Trophy tournament.

Zimbabwe are hosting this year’s edition of the Barthes tourney.

In today’s other game, which will be a precursor to the Junior Sables assignment, a Zimbabwe Select side will face a Harare Select.

The rugby menu on offer at Belgravia serves two purposes as it will give the 32-man Junior Sables squad a last chance to impress coach Shaun De Souza and his team of selectors.

De Souza will announce a trimmed side after the game.

All the players on show today will also get a chance to make an early impression on new Sables coach Piet Benade.

Benade who has taken over from Brendon Dawson will face Zambia in his first assignment, with the game adding an international spice to the Mwana Group schools festival at Prince Edward on May 4.

But it is the Junior Sables who have a more immediate assignment as they must tackle the Tunisia hurdle in their Barther Trophy opener at Harare Sports Club on April 20.

And one of the players looking to making the cut, Samuel Edwards spoke of the significance of being selected and how the players are eager to prove their worth.

“Everyone is fighting for a position at the moment, and hopefully I will make it. It’s important to be fully prepared if we are to perform well as a team,” said Edwards.

“I am ready for the tournament and it’s an amazing feeling. 

“As a player, it’s always been my wish to represent my country and playing at home will mean everything to us.

“Every time a tournament has been played in Zimbabwe, we fail to pull through but we are using that as motivation this time around.

“There is huge pressure coming back on us and we want to get it (Barthes Trophy) for the third time,” added Edwards.

Former Sables scrumhalf Benade will take charge of both the Zimbabwe A and the Harare Select sides.

The Sables coach said his teams will not take it easy on their juniors, a key tactical move that will help De Souza’s men gauge their strength.

“We have always been big supporters of the Junior Sables and very proud of what they have achieved over the last couple of years,” said Benade.

“We will definitely take this match very seriously as we want to help the team prepare to the best of their abilities and ready them for the challenges that will come at the Barthes Trophy.

“We also have a match against Zambia coming up and this match will should give me a clearer picture of who will and can play in that match.

“Both matches should form part of our preparations for the Africa Cup coming up in a couple of months,” he said.

On the selection process that went into these hastily-assembled teams, Benade said: “I have a great knowledge of the local players from my time in the Sables’ team over the last couple of years.

“I had my eye on some players and a few came in and trained well, so that was the starting part.

“We have assembled two teams with the first team (Zimbabwe A) playing against the Under-20s while a B team of sorts (Zimbabwe select) will playing against a Harare-based team.

“We also have a few former Under-20s who have since graduated into the senior team, and I will be keeping my eye on the Junior Sables too in the match.

“Age is not an issue, if a player is good enough then he will get a fair chance to make the senior team,” said Benade.