AFTER putting on a brave display albeit for a losing cause against Scotland on Saturday, Zimbabwe will have their sights on picking up their first win at the ongoing World Rugby U20 Trophy when they take on Uruguay in their second Pool A match at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi today.
The match kicks off at 1100 hours.
Junior Sables tactician Shaun De Souza cited early jitters as the main chink in their normally impenetrable armour as they fell 64-33 to the higher ranked Scotland side.
The Junior Sables struggled in the opening half as they went to the break trailing 31-0.
However, the Junior Sables, who are the reigning continental champions, came back a very transformed side in the second half as they ran in five impressive tries despite having to play portions of the match one man short after two players were sin-binned on different occasions.
De Souza says his side is ready to bounce back from that unexpected setback.
“I think we (are) still on course, it’s not all lost,” he said.
“We had planned to come in the top four in this event…our next game will be Uruguay, I’m sure we will be victorious in that game…And then the US.
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“So top four is still in reach…that’s the plan. That has been the game plan. Nothing bad, we learn from today’s game, and we just get better.”
Uruguay edged a 64-point thriller 33-31 against the USA on Saturday and a victory against the Junior Sables will take them a step closer to win the U20 Trophy for the first time since the inaugural edition 15 years ago.
The South American outfit won the only previous meeting between the sides in the tournament, running out 50-22 winners in a pool-stage match at Harare Sports Club in 2016.
The two sides alao played each other in the World Rugby U20 Series in Canada last August, with Uruguay winning 35-12 at Guelph University.
Should they emulate that result today then they will head into the final round of pool fixtures with their hopes of promotion to the U20 Championship very much intact.
Zimbabwe will certainly be aiming to start against Los Teritos where they left off in their opening match against Scotland.
The Junior Sables ran in five tries in the final 26 minutes against the Scots to secure a try bonus-point and make the scoreline a great deal more respectable in what ended as a 64-33 defeat.
Zimbabwe will be without the influential duo of skipper Panashe Zuze and lock Huntley Masterson due to injury.
Masterson, who has since returned home after he fractured his hand has since been ruled out of the tournament while Zuze will miss out on the next game and is only expected back for the last pool match against the United States.
Versatile second rower, Tamuka Kambani who was part of the non-travelling reserves has been roped into the squad ahead of the must-win match against Uruguay.
Zimbabwe will need to be wary of the strength of the Uruguayans' set piece while also looking to stretch their opponents' defence with their exciting backline.
A win for Zimbabwe will revive their hopes of meeting their primary goal of securing a podium finish in the eight-team competition where the winners will be promoted to the World Rugby U20 Championship in 2024.
