The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
THE afternoon the day after their Barthes Trophy conquest in Kenya on Sunday, the Young Sables were greeted by hordes of friends, family and fans who were on hand to give them a heroes’ welcome at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Their coach Shaun De Souza spent the next day on his phone responding to congratulatory messages and requests for interviews from the media.
However, by the third day, it was back to reality, as De Souza had to report back to work at Nations Hardware in Eastlea, where the 44-year-old gaffer works as a sales and marketing manager.
His company’s office was the venue of the interview with The Sunday Mail Sports, during which the Young Sables coach opened up about his rough upbringing, faith and some of the secrets behind Zimbabwe’s successful tour of duty.
“The excitement hasn’t really died down yet; we are still getting messages from all over the world,” said De Souza.
“There is still a lot of excitement for the team and the country, and I have been getting calls and messages from people from all walks of life.
“Some of them I haven’t spoken to in years.
“The overall reception, particularly at the airport when we arrived, has been overwhelming.”
While rugby is a team effort and the credit has been spread across the board, from players, administration and technical bench, De Souza deserves special mention given the odds that were against his team going into the tournament.
The draw did not do them any favours as Tunisia, their first opponents, were a virtual unknown going into the competition, while Madagascar and Namibia were ranked higher and were tournament favourites, respectively.
De Souza’s men needed a last-minute try to get over the first hurdle against Tunisia (19-18), fought hard and dirty to grind a result against their semi-final opponents Madagascar and totally dominated perennial rivals Namibia in the final.
“We went into the tournament ranked sixth, and those rankings were based on last year’s Barthes Trophy, which we did take part in.
“Due to the draw, the hardest opponent for us was the quarterfinal tie against Tunisia.
“We played a team ranked fourth, which was the most evenly balanced tie of the tournament due to their fourth and sixth rankings.
“Most of my charges had not really got a taste of first-team rugby due to the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting sport the last two years and, as such, nerves crept in early in that game.
“Once we got settled, we started playing better and managed to get the win courtesy of that last-minute try,” he said.
A change of tactics was needed in the second game, a 32-3 semi-final win over Madagascar that is best remembered for Zimbabwe’s hard tackling and grind.
They then wrapped up their campaign with a battling 19-14 victory over nemesis Namibia.
With the success in Kenya comes the title African champions and a ticket to next year’s Junior World Trophy.
For De Souza, the title comes as vindication for the many years of struggle, both in his personal and professional life, and could ensure he is one of the most sought-after coaches in the land.
Born January 24, 1978, De Souza and his twin brother, Shane, spent their formative years at St Joseph’s House for Boys in Harare, an institution that played a huge part in moulding him into the man he is today.
“I grew up with my grandmother during the early stages of my childhood, then I ended up at St Joseph’s House for Boys.
“Clive Barnes (former Prince Edward headmaster) was a board member there and he helped get me into Prince Edward.
“St Joseph’s became a brotherhood for me, ‘brothers from another mother’ was the foundation it stood by.
“We all got to build a sense of camaraderie and a bond that has taken us thus far.
“We had good facilities and they kept us busy with soccer, basketball, tennis, swimming and we even had a marimba band that we enjoyed playing on Sunday afternoons.
“Barnes also helped link my brother and I to a wonderful family who sponsored us throughout our secondary education.”
The twins enrolled at Moffat Primary School, where they stood out on the sports field.
The school did not have a rugby programme as the brothers took up athletics and hockey as their sports of choice.
Sean De Souza was a short-distance runner, with the 100, 200 and 400-metre races his specialty, while Shane was more of a long-distance runner.
The 44-year-old caught the eye of Barnes, who helped him enrol with Prince Edward High School.
It is at the school where De Souza was introduced to rugby, and the bond between the two remains strong to this day.
He also met his current assistant coaches, Costa Dinha and Marvin Chirume.
However, these two are but a footnote of the many big names the coach has either played alongside or been coached by.
He made his senior team debut in 1999 under Mark Danato and played alongside names like current Sables coach Brendan Dawson, Bright Chivandire, Kennedy Tsimba, Ian Noble, Ellimon “Bedford’’ Chimbima, Victor Olonga and Paul Georgiou.
While that Sables team didn’t get that many games, De Souza played international rugby for both the Cheetahs and Sables between 1999 and 2003.
At club level, he played for the country’s big three — Harare Sports Club, Old Georgians and Old Hararians — where he had his longest and most successful stint.
He also had the pleasure of lacing up his boots at club level alongside names such as Rockface Gurumani, Regis Chigumira, Prayer Chitendere, Gary Kagande, Will Cochrane, James Nyatanga, Jackson Muzawazi, Clint Robinson and Basil Dingiswayo.
Among the more reputable gaffers that he has played under are names like Godwin “Jaws” Murambiwa, Bright Chivandire and Liam Middleton at the Sevens level.
He has been the head coach of the Prince Edward Tigers since 2014 and had his best spell in an unbeaten 2017 season.
De Souza has over 100 games as Tigers head coach, with a handful of his former players feeding into both the Sables and Cheetahs.
Away from rugby, he is a devout Muslim and father to two girls, Zaina and Hannah.
“I am a Muslim and my religious values play a massive role in moulding me as a human being.
“It definitely helps me on and off the field to be patient, calm and have good intentions with everything I do.”
Meanwhile Zimbabwe’s Goshawks ended their winless start to the Currie Cup First Division when they edged rivals Kenya Simbas 22-21 in Cape Town yesterday.
Coach Brendan Dawson’s Sables, trading as the Goshawks in this competition had lost their opening two games of the tourney.
But yesterday they finally remembered how to win, albeit in battling fashion.
Victory over the Kenyans will no doubt boost the confidence of the Zimbabweans who just like their East African opponents are using the Currie Cup as the last leg of their preparations for the Rugby Africa Cup tournament in France in July.
On yet another fine day for Zimbabwe rugby, the Sevens outfit the Cheetahs rose of a false start to thump Madagascar 40-0 at Kyadondo Rugby Club in Kampala, Uganda.
They had slumped to a surprise 12-14 defeat by Burkina Faso.
