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Barbarians schools side as one of the best things to happen to local rugby in recent years.
Their week-long stay here could be the turning point in Zimbabwe rugby fortunes.
The Barbarians became the first British rugby side to tour Zimbabwe in 13 years.
The England national cricket side refused to play in Zimbabwe during the 2003 World Cup but the youthful bunch of rugby players showed confidence in their safety and security while in this country.
The Young Sables lost to the British Barbarians but Jani believes the tour was a sign of bigger things to come.
“This is one of the best things that has happened to Zimbabwe rugby in a long time and we needed that kind of thing.
“It was good for us because it afforded us a chance to evaluate where our rugby side stands and also in view of our preparations for the JWRT.
“That is the kind of rugby we will be exposed to when we go for the JWRT and it was a very positive move for both Zimbabwe and Britain and it is also a sign of good things to come.
“We hope that when they get back to Britain they will shed more light and show cause to other schools and teams on the benefits of coming to Zimbabwe.
“This was an eye-opener, especially for the technical team, and the players to see which areas they need to work on and there were a lot of positives drawn from that tour
“Now that we know they are willing to tour Zimbabwe we will also be looking forward to reciprocate the tours because we would get good preparation for international tournaments,” said the former Sables winger.
The cheerful Independent Schools Barbarians side left the country yesterday, wagging their tails after a largely successful week-long tour of Zimbabwe.
The British team, comprised of players from schools in Britain, usually goes on tour towards or at the end of their rugby season and they were excited about their stay in Zimbabwe.
They came, they played and they conquered.
And, for most of the players on tour, Zimbabwe was just a perfect place to play rugby as they enjoyed the sunshine and the dry conditions.
The side played four games, losing 22-23 against the Harare Lions Schools, but they went on to win the remaining three – a 38-17 win over Lomagundi, beating Zimbabwe Under-19 21-14 and rounding up their tour with a 38-10 win over the Goshawks.
Every member of the British delegation, led by chairman John Terry and manager Edwin Doran, who organised the tour, were excited about their visit to Zimbabwe.
Doran said some parents were at first reluctant to let their children tour Zimbabwe.
But as they travelled from the Harare International Airport to Prince Edward School, the picture they had of this country completely changed.
“We wish we had stayed longer here because Zimbabwe is really a beautiful country, it has a warm environment and the people are so caring, pleasant and welcoming.
“We enjoyed and loved the reception we got here starting from the time we landed at the airport.
“We did not know what to expect but everyone here made life so simple and enjoyable here,” said Barbarians’ coach Hugo Corbett.
Having been in the country for six days, the visitors on Thursday had a chance to mix with some of the up-and-coming players when they toured Mbare.
It was at George Stark High School that the British donated playing kit to Mbare Rugby Academy and also had a chance to play some touch rugby against the young players.
Most of the players at the Mbare Rugby Academy are below the age of 16 and come from schools in Mbare with George Stark and Mbare High providing most of the boys.
“These boys showed some good skill in the game and I am impressed by the way they were playing as they have good handling skills, their passing is clean and they are good at the rucks,” said Barbarians winger Peter Wild.
The Barbarians first game was against Harare Lions at Prince Edwards’ Jubilee field, 29 hours after their arrival, and the hosts emerged 23-22 winners.
The majority of the fans, coaches, administrators and players who graced Prince Edward to watch the match thought that the Zimbabwe teams were going to dominate the Barbarians.
Their next game was on Monday against Lomagundi College.
The day belonged to the Baabars who dominated with a 38-17 and this was the start of the Barbarians roller-coaster as they went on to win their remaining two games.
The big win came when they beat the Zimbabwe Under-19 at St Johns College on Wednesday as they maintained their 100 percent unbeaten run against national sides.
Last year they also beat the American Eagles junior side.
“There is nothing that feels better than beating a national side and this was the big one we were looking forward to it and our goal has been achieved.
“We were really looking forward to this game and we are so happy that we managed to get a win and maintain our unbeaten run against national sides,” said Barbarians captain Jacob Poulton.
With the rules stipulating that only players born on or after September 1, 1992, Zimbabwe could not field the side that is expected to take part at the 2011 edition of the JWRT tournament in Georgia.
This saw a large chunk of these players watching the game from the terraces, including the likes of forward Tatenda Karuru, who was part of the crowd.
Foreign-based players like Marco Mama were not even called in for the event while Takudzwa Mandiwanza, Charles Jiji and Takudzwa Jaravaza were also not part of the squad.
Coach Brighton Chivandire conceded defeat and gave no excuses for his sides loss.
“We failed to turn pressure into points, especially in the strike zone where we failed to control ourselves and panicked because we lacked patience and that was the biggest reason why we lost.”
The Young Sables’ selection criteria was such that players who are 18 and below, and are part of the squad in camp for the JWRT, were given first preference, followed by those that played at the Craven Week last year and provincial sides.
The Young Sables technical teams took advantage of this tour to have a look at some of the players in schools.
“This was a chance for us to look at a number of other players and the Craven Week and Under-20 selectors were watching these games and the advantage is that we managed to have a look at a wider base of players. This is one of the reasons why Takudzwa Chieza was not part of the Under-19 team but played for the Goshawks,” said Murambiwa.
The Barbarians capped a great tour with a 38-30 win over Goshawks Schools in their final game.
“The first game on any tour is always difficult and our boys were not used to the conditions here and they were tired because we had arrived the previous day. Not to take anything away from them, they gave us a good game and they deserved the win. But the win at Lomagundi got us back on track and we maintained the wins,” added Corbett.
The last UK school tour to Zimbabwe was in 1998 when Christ College came here.