DAWSON: I’LL GIVE YOUNGSTERS CHANCE
SABLES coach Brendan Dawson says he will give youngsters an opportunity in this afternoon’s clash against Burkina Faso’s Stallions in an Africa Cup Pool D final match at Old Georgians in Harare.
Sables won 101-3 in the first leg on Sunday against the same opponents.
In an interview H-Metro Sport yesterday Dawson said he wants to give other players that did not play on Sunday an opportunity.
“I just feel that we give opportunities to the youngsters and they must give it all so that we see where they are in the sense of playing for the national side.
“We have three injuries, Simba Mandioma, Hilton Mudariki (captain) and Martin Mangongo, so I feel it is right we give other guys an opportunity.
“The injuries are not massively seriously but we do not need to risk it and I prefer they get full recovery and make sure they are 100% percent fit for the future,” he said.
Going into this afternoon’s match, the coach said he wants his side to improve in accuracy and to be more clinical.
“What we want to achieve now is more accuracy, more clinical in our operation and improve our final decision making to make sure we do not give away 50/50 balls away ,also to stick to the pattern because I feel we were lacking that in the first match.
Dawson added that he was happy with Sunday’s victory.
“Obviously we were really happy with the victory scoring 101 points is difficult to archive irrespective of who is the opposition.
“You know when your opposition is so disjointed and doesn’t seem to play in a pattern that is really difficult so what was important for us was to stick to our patterns and we did that,” said Dawson.
The Rugby Africa Cup games are qualifications for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.