SABLES coach Brendan Dawson is expecting a tough test of character for his youthful side when they tackle a more experienced Kenya side in a Victoria Cup fixture at Hartsfield Rugby Grounds this afternoon.<\/p>\n
The Sables and the Simbas are unbeaten so far in the competition, but the East Africans have the physiological advantage of having dominated their Zimbabwean counterparts in the last three years.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Sables, who were under the tutelage of former Springboks coach Peter de Villers lost 45-36 in Nairobi while in 2017 the Simbas also won 22\u201341 at
\nHartsfield.<\/p>\n
Dawson, who took over from De Villiers two months ago, is confident his boys could upset the Kenyans, although he is anticipating a tough challenge from the
\nKenyans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect nothing, but the best from Kenya. They are a top quality unit. Hard competitive rugby is what we expect from them. It is going to be tough because
\nwe have got a very young side, a bunch of youngsters that we are building to take over and go into the next World Cup qualifiers. It is going to be hard for
\nthem, 90% of them don\u2019t have Test experience. Kenya are a very improved side and still have old boys in their set-up, but I am confident the boys can step up
\nand give Kenya a good game,\u201d Dawson said.<\/p>\n
Skipper Hilton Mudariki said victory would not be the only focus for his charges against the Kenyans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going into this game wanting to win, but I think for us it is just about the process, achieving our game plan. We have done some analysis on Kenya.
\nThis game is about us and what we want to achieve as a team. We are not too focused on the Kenyans, but on the way we want to play. We want to play a certain
\nbrand of rugby and it\u2019s what we are working on going into tomorrow\u2019s game,\u201d Mudariki explained.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Kenya coach Paul Odera, whose side managed wins over Uganda and Zambia so far in the competition says Zimbabwe are their toughest opponents in the
\nVictoria Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cZimbabwe are our toughest opponents in this Victoria Cup. They travelled away to Kampala which is always tough for any team and they came out with a good
\nresult. They beat Zambia as well. So its two unbeaten teams and probably tomorrow\u2019s result might decide the course of the Victoria Cup in 2019. That is not
\nlost on us and we still have two more games to play but the result will go a long way in determining how we approach the next two games,\u201d Odera said.<\/p>\n
Sables team to face Kenya: 1 Tyran Fagan, 2 Keith Murray, 3 David Makanda, 4 Godwin Mangenje, 5 Godfrey Muzanargwo, 6 Biselele Tshamala (vice-captain), 7 Brian
\nNyaude, 8 Njabulo Ndlovu, 9 Hilton Mudariki, 10 Dudlee White Sharpley, 11 Matthew McNab, 12 Ngoni Chibuwe, 13 Shingirai Katsvere, 14 Takudzwa Kumadiro, 15
\nMartin Mangongo<\/p>\n
Replacements: 16 Matthew Mandioma, 17 Tatenda Rwenyu, 18 Royal Mwale, 19 Blithe Mavesere, 20 Aiden Burnett, 21 Tarisai Mugariri, 22 Kuziwakwashe Kazembe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SABLES coach Brendan Dawson is expecting a tough test of character for his youthful side when they tackle a more experienced Kenya side in a Victoria Cup fixture at Hartsfield Rugby Grounds this afternoon. The Sables and the Simbas are unbeaten so far in the competition, but the East Africans have the physiological advantage of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":11990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,16],"tags":[84,390,74,349],"class_list":["post-11988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-football","tag-league","tag-sports","tag-tournament"],"yoast_head":"\n