Grant Mitchell, ZRU chief executive said the tour would help correct the mistakes made ahead of previous JWRT editions – where the team participated without preparatory matches.
“We have qualified for the third successive time and we aim to make sure that this time we send a team that can compete against the best in the world. Previously, we have sent out strong teams, but there have been a few problems and one of them is that we lacked pre-tournament practice. That is why we are looking at South Africa to help us avoid that. We have always looked at local opposition and that has not provided the teams with adequate competition during the preparations,” Mitchell said in Harare.
Among other teams that the junior Sables hope to play are Sharks, Leopards, Lions and Cheetahs.
The juniors qualified for IRB’s prime junior tournament courtesy of a victory in a final over Namibia in Harare last month. The in-form team booked their berth for Georgia ahead of seven other nations, namely, Namibia, Tunisia, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Morocco, and Madagascar.
Zimbabwe has experienced mixed fortunes at the JWRT. In 2010, they played four games, winning one, drawing another and losing twice.
Aside from providing Host Unions with major event experience, the Under 20 tournament plays a vital player development role for participating Unions, preparing emerging talent for the Test arena.
More than 50 players have graduated from the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy to win Test caps.
Post published in: Rugby