We are an amateur side, Chivandire

Chivandire will lead his team into a tough 2011 Junior World Trophy set for Georgia, in May. All eight teams Zimbabwe, Canada, Japan, Russia, Samoa, Uruguay, USA and the hosts Georgia – will be fighting for promotion into the highest level of junior competition.

Despite the country being the bakery of talented rugby stars like Tendai Beast Mtawarira and Tonderai Chivhanga, who are a force to reckon with in South Africa, Zimbabwe has never featured at the highest level of competition in this game.

We are an amateur side and it will always be a problem, Chivandire explained. We (coaches) earn a living somewhere and come here as part time coaches; but the game has changed world-over. We have a lot of talent but the resources are a challenge, what we would ideally love is to have these boys stay and train together longer in camp for the purpose of team bonding and monitoring.

Chivandire looked at the brighter side of this years Young Sables team and commented, It is a good thing to have a guy like (Grant) Mitchell, a professional strength and conditioning coach, coming into the structures of the team to help the boys; it just raises the levels of expectations.

The national Sevens Rugby player, Grant Mitchell, joined the technical structures of the team as the Strength and Conditioning coach, hoping to assist the youngsters into gaining the much-needed physical strength in the game.

A lot of them are underweight to compete at this level of the competition. There is need for lots of commitment from them, such as following the diet they will be given during a nutrition lecture. But from what I have seen so far, their approach to training is becoming more professional, which is a good thing, said Mitchell.

Despite displaying a competitive show in last years edition of the global showdown, the Young Sables ended seventh out of eight teams, which makes their dream of promotion into next years bigger show a tough mission as they are bound to meet one of the tournaments best top teams in their first match.

A number of players, including captain Marco Mama, Charles Jiji, Tatenda Karuru, Takudzwa Jaravaza and Takudzwa Mandiwanza who were in Russia for the previous edition of the tournament, are expected to inspire their countrymen who will be making their maiden appearance at such a high profile showdown.