T. NashipaeZimbabwe defends U20 Barthes Cup title with an impressive victory over Kenya
.jpg)
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 30.04.23. | 19:32
Kenya Chipu fell 28-7 to the Junior Saples from Zimbabwe in a thrilling match played at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday afternoon
The curtains of thrilling U20 Barthes Cup matches came to a halt on Sunday 30 April at the Nyayo National Stadium as Zimbabwe hit Kenya 28-7 in an epic final.
To qualify for the final, Chipu had knocked out Uganda in the quarter-finals 44-20 to proceed to the semifinal where they held off Namibia 24-13. Chipu lost 16-5 to Namibia in the semi-finals last year. They would later edge Madagascar 49-15 to claim third place. Zimbabwe on the other hand were out to defend their trophy after they won 19-14 against Namibia in last year’s finals.
Action
Chipu was led by Kenya Harlequins lock Laban Kipsang while the Junior Sables were under the captainship of scrum-half Panashe Zuze.
The opening half was closely contested and the Sables were productive, scoring three converted tries while the hosts only managed one. Chipu was off to a slow start and tension was high, with the side committing handling errors. Zimbabwe kicked off with five-pointers from Edward Sigauke, Simbarashe Kanyangarara, and Alex Nyamunda. Kenya also managed a penalty which Patrick Wainaina slotted in. Toward the end of the opening half, Gaylord Ngasi and Iddo Kutta were sent to the naughty chair.
Zimbabwe added one more converted try in the closing half to see the scores rise to 26-7 at full-time.
Namibia came in third after holding off struggling Tunisia 25-20 in the third-place playoff while Madagascar won 21-17 over Uganda in the seventh-place final.
Meanwhile, Ivory Coast clinched position five after beating Zambia 27-20 in a nerve-wracking fifth-place playoff match. That was an improvement from last year’s performance where they finished eighth, a result that saw them suffer relegation. Namibia defeated Tunisia 25-20 in the third-place final.
The U20 Barthes Cup is the only junior tournament in Africa and eight national U20 teams compete for the title. It is named in honor of the late Jean-Luc Barthes, former World Rugby Regional Manager for Africa who passed away in 2016. It was previously called the Rugby Africa Div 1 A U20 Championship.
Winners Zimbabwe have now qualified for the Junior World Rugby Trophy which will take place in Nairobi from 15-30 July. Kenya will also feature by virtue of being the hosts.
.jpg)
