IN SOME way I predicted Kenya would come into the final last week the far better side, and favourites to wrestle the Youth Africa Cup title from Zimbabwe, the dominant nation over the past two years.
ENOCK MUCHINJO
The East Africans had played their rugby with a good structure throughout the tournament in their attack, defence and set-piece.
Zimbabwe would be less hungry this time around, I feared, with all the unfortunate sideshows in the build-up to the final. There had been unwanted publicity over lack of payment for the players, and the coach Shaun De Souza had to shoulder rare criticism because of his tactics, some of the faulting unwarranted in my view.
And so the Kenyans played their best rugby in three years to win 28-13 and the trophy in Harare, very well deserved indeed.
But for me, watching as a Zimbabwe fan, I wasn’t left with any deep sense of disappointment in the end because this dominance by the Junior Sables was getting increasingly meaningless the longer it does not address, or at least show potential to have any further positive effect on the future of the game in this country.
What happened last week at Harare Sports Club was important for the purpose of stopping for a moment, think with clear minds, and take stock of where we really are.
We could have won a third title in a row and then what? Do it again next year with a different group, and come back again in 2026 with yet another? You do not pick players for the national Under-20s – which is your next official representative team – just to continuously bash the other countries at that level and finish it there.
Global power South Africa are in a different league with sides like Zimbabwe but like everyone else, including us, they will bask in the glory of winning the youth tournaments they play in. And quite so, it must be celebrated, don’t get me wrong. It’s an achievement for everybody involved, because all your opponents also want it.
But let’s take again the example of South Africa next door. The bulk of their Junior Springboks are already contracted by their provincial unions, and you can bet your bottom dollar that the South African system will not allow this investment to slip away without trying to squeeze every iota of Springbok hint in all those boys.
I haven’t heard anything noteworthy from our local authorities here regarding the transition, development and future in Zimbabwean rugby of the very gifted lads who set Kenya alight in 2022 and 2023 to win back-to-back Barthes Trophies.
Time, effort and sweat would go to waste if that was the last time we’ve seen of Shingi Manyarara, Bryan Chiang, Panashe Zuze, Alex Nyamunda, Dion Khumalo, Simbarashe Kanyangarara, Brandon Marume, Huntley Masterson and the rest of that band of young merry men.
All the great will be reduced to futility and a farce of huge proportion.
