NEW: Young Sables through to Barthes Trophy final 

14 Apr, 2022 - 09:04 0 Views
NEW: Young Sables through to Barthes Trophy final 

The Sunday Mail

Online Reporter 

Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .  (13) 32

Madagascar . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . .. . . . . . . 3

IT might not have been pretty but Zimbabwe got the job done.

The Young Sables secured their place in the final of the Barthes’ Trophy, courtesy of a 32-3 victory over Madagascar at Nyayo National Stadium in Kenya on Wednesday.

In a game that will be best remembered for its physicality and a record number of unforced errors from both sides, the win sets up the Sean De Souza-coached side for a date against regional rivals, Namibia, in Sunday’s final.

Zimbabwe got their tries from a first-half brace from Tanaka Gondo Mukandapi, Josiah Borerwe and skipper Takudzwa Musingwini.

Brendan Marume chipped in with four penalties.

However, credit should go to the Zimbabwe Under-20 coach, De Souza, who clearly did his homework and managed to neutralise the Islanders’ biggest strengths.

Predominately known for their speed and ball-carrying abilities, Zimbabwe came into the tie with a heightened sense of physicality, which, in turn, put the Islanders out of their comfort zone.

The Zimbabwe youngsters went in hard on their opponents, a tactic that ruined the flow of the game at times, and saw both sides concede an increasing number of penalties.

As a result, Madagascar could only get on the board courtesy of a first-minute penalty from fullback Elson Gabriel.

Unfortunately, the game itself was not without incident.

Both sides had a man sent to the sin-bin, with the duo of Zimbabwe vice captain  Tawanda Matipano and Madagascar lock Marlon Bienvue Salama each getting yellow carded during the course of the match.

In the case of Matipano, the Zimbabwean forward ended up being the biggest casualty of the match when he was given his second yellow card and taken out of the match    deep inside the second half.

He will miss Sunday’s final against Namibia.

Earlier in the day, Namibia secured their spot courtesy of a 16-5 victory over hosts and defending champions, Kenya.

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