New coach, same old results for Junior Sables
AN air of expectation existed in local schoolboy rugby circles when the Old Mutual Zimbabwe Under-18 headed off to the annual Coca-Cola Craven Week held at St Stithian’s College in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The team had a new coach in the form of Scott Gray of Saint John’s College who took over from the long serving Godwin “Jaws” Murambiwa. Competition was increased with the inclusion of an Academy Week side which was not there before. A squad of 70 players was chosen at the national trials conducted at Gateway School in Harare in May. From there, the coaches chose their best 23 players for each team to represent the country in South Africa.
Over the years, preparations have been an issue with junior national team coaches complaining about the time they spend with the players prior to heading to the Coca-Cola Youth Weeks in South Africa. This time around, Gray and his Academy Week counterpart Basil Dingiswayo managed to make use of every Sunday since the team was chosen for training.
With such preparations, the Zimbabwean lads were expected to perform much better than they have done over the years. But all that hard work came to naught when the Jack Charsley led Junior Sables lost all the three matches they played at the Craven Week against the Leopards, Eastern Province Country Districts and traditional last day foes Namibia.
First were the Leopards with the boys from North West putting the Zimbabwean lads to the sword when they triumphed 72-17. Gray saw his game plan thrown into tatters when he played the bulk of the match with 14 players on the park. Wing Tafadziswa Bunu was sent off by referee Johre Botha minutes into the second half.
Bunu had spent 10 minutes in the sin bin towards the end of the first period for a high tackle. When the lanky St George’s College lad committed yet another dangerous tackle shortly after serving time on the sidelines, Botha had no choice but to take out the red card, leaving Zimbabwe to complete the rest of the match one man short.
As with World Rugby regulations, Bunu appeared before a judiciary commission charged with dangerous play, pleaded guilty to the offence and his tournament was over when he received a twomatch ban.
Zimbabwe’s next opponents were EP Country Districts who had also lost their opening fixture in the tournament 42-20 to the Griquas. The Zimbabwean youngsters put up a brilliant second half display but poor handling saw them knock on the ball at crucial stages. EP Country made the best of Zimbabwe’s mistakes to record a 34-14 victory.
Their last assignment at the Craven Week came in the form of Namibia, a team Zimbabwe play every year on the last day of the Craven Week. Zimbabwe were the first to score through Charsley but Namibia were simple too good as they triumphed 45-21.
Unlike a carpenter who blames his tools for producing a bad artefact, Gray chose to bite the bullet, taking the blame for the team’s failure to play with cohesion.
“I am very disappointed in myself, please make sure you get that right. I am not disappointed in my players at all. I am disappointed with myself. I have failed quite badly in trying to get these boys to play as a team, I have made a lot of mistakes,’’ said Gray.
With the way Gray spoke last Saturday, indications are that he will not continue as Craven Week coach which means a new mentor could be in charge of the team next year.
The Academy Week team struggled in their opening match where they were beaten 62-14 by Golden Lions XV but recorded their first victory with a 64-15 triumph over Border Country Districts but went down 27-24 against Namibia on the last day.
Sentiments were that there were some players who were in the Academy Week who should have been chosen for the Craven Week instead based on their performance in the three matches. Players such as number eight Louis Du Plessis, wing Siampunga Sindaza, centre Edwin Mutseyekwa, the Owuru brothers James and Matthew as well as flyhalf Taine Roelofsz were some of those who left many wondering why they had been overlooked for Craven Week selection.
While the ZRU and the schools system ponder yet another poor display at the Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week, a change of doing things is seriously required if a change of fortunes is to be achieved in future.