Benning manifests his dream scenario!
JOSEPH BENNING is a goal-oriented young chap!
And here, by goal-oriented, it is a singular and not necessarily the plural form of the term.
The story goes that from the age of about 11, the young man who they call “Mukanya” has had one singular dream and that is to one day run down the field while donning the white and green stripes of the Zimbabwe Junior Sables.
And, that dream nearly came true last year when the Zimbabwe Under-20 rugby team wrote their own fairytale as Shaun De Souza’s boys successfully defended their Barthes Trophy in Kenya and then made their longawaited return to the World Junior Trophy held in Scotland.
Sadly, Mukanya was not on the call sheet of either Junior Sables’ assignment as the technical team felt he simply did not make the cut.
The 20-year-old Old Georgians’ forward has since described the events of last year’s Junior Sables’ sojourn into international rugby as a dark period in his life.
“It was probably one of the hardest things that I have had to cope with,” said Benning, on missing on the Junior Sables campaign last year.
“It is something that I have wanted so much- ever since I was form one, when I began my Zimbabwe age-group rugby career- and missing out was quite demotivating.
“It put me in a rather dark place as it was really heartbreaking that I could not be there in Kenya and Scotland with my rugby family,” he said.
Coincidentally, Benning’s absence itself was legitimately felt in the team as the 20-year-old could have come in handy when trying to get into the minds of the team’s opponents.
After all, getting into the minds of the opponents is Benning’s hidden talent and the supposed origins of his ‘Mukanya’ nickname.
“It (nickname) was given to me by my teammates as I’m always putting pressure on the other team (on the field) and stopping their attack,” he said.
“I’m a nuisance to other teams on the field and, as my teammates always say, I tend to annoy our opponents like a monkey.
“Off the field too, I tend to play around a lot and have a huge sense of humor,” said the Junior Sables forward.
To his credit, Benning did not let one little hiccup deter his career and lifelong dream of playing for the Junior Sables.
Like many locals, Mukanya followed the game online and had some rather eye-catching observations about the team’s performance.
“Yeah, I did follow the team at both the Barthes Trophy and the Junior World Trophy, and I think we showed the world what Zimbabwe can do.
“The boys really put their foot down and showed what we can do on the rugby pitch.
“We did, however, lack in confidence at the Junior World Trophy, but i believe we can compete with those so-called big teams,” he said. That was then.
Now, Binning looks primed and ready to correct the only blemish to his otherwise promising budding career.
He is set to be among the players expected to represent the Zimbabwe Under-20 brand at this month’s Nedbank Rugby Challenge.
The tournament will be the last chance saloon for all Junior Sables aspirants.
Merely putting on the Nedbank Under20 High-Performance team or Junior Sables jersey will be the fulfillment of the work that began last year when he first got cut.
“After failing to make the team last year, I didn’t want to leave anything to chance and
I couldn’t coast on my character anymore,” he said.
“I immediately got down to business, going to the gym a lot more and started doing field session days every afternoon.
“I worked on everything that I could. “When it was time for selection this year, looking back on it, there was really nothing more I could have done.
“I had put in the work in the gym, on the field and did ice baths religiously as I wanted to stay fit and injury-free as much as possible,” he said.