- Chipu won all their games in Zimbabwe
- They beat the hosts in the title decider
- They have qualified for the World Rugby U20 tournament
Kenya’s Under-20 national rugby 15s team, Chipu, put up a sensational comeback to beat Zimbabwe 28-13 on home soil to clinch the Rugby Afrique Barthes Cup, and qualify for the World Rugby Under-20 Trophy.
The Kenyan boys had trailed by a pair of uncoverted tries after just 10 minutes, but they put on a gallant fight to reclaim the title on enemy territory at the Harare Sports Club.
Speaking after the match, Chipu Head Coach Simon Jawichre said he was delighted with the performance and believes his side put in a gallant fight despite the early setback.
“This game could have gone either way but it went our way. The boys followed the script to the letter. We put in the work on our setpieces, it showed in the match and the results speak for themselves,” the tactician stated.
He added; “The stay together in Zimbabwe has helped us put some lock and key in some areas. We wanted to dominate the scrums in the this game and we also put in some work on the line outs. I believe we showed what we can do and I want to thank our fans back at home for the support.”
The Rugby Africa U20 Barthes Trophy is the official men’s U20 championship for Africa. The winner of this competition qualifies to represent Africa at the World Rugby U20 Trophy which this year takes place from 2-17 July in Scotland.
Chipu show resilience against Zimbabwe
In the title decider, the hosts enjoyed possession and territory early on, and seemed to be coasting, Tawana Nyashabwane scoring off the rolling maul for their opening try after eleven minutes of play before Edward Sigauke touched down, pouncing on the bounce from Benoni Nkhairo’s chip to put Zimbabwe 10-0 up.
Even with the scores in Zimbabwe’s favor, it was Chipu dominating their opponents in the forwards and got their first points on the board when Iddo Kuta barged over from a scrum in Zimbabwe’s five. James Olela converted to bring the score to 10-7.
Chipu continued to dominate with Michael Wamalwa landing his fourth try of the tournament as they led for the first time in this match, Olela missing the conversion with the scores at 12-10.
Patrick Wainaina then scored a third try for Chipu, breaking from the base of the scrum to put his side 17-10 up at the interval.
Another Olela penalty after the restart took Chipu 20-10 ahead as Chipu continued to assert their dominance in the forwards.
Nkhario’s penalty brought Zimbabwe to 20-13 but a try from captain Andy Cole Omolo and Philip Okeyo secured the result as Chipu won their third title, having previously won in 2019 and 2021.
Four teams featured in the tournament
Chipu in action against Tunisia in Zimbabwe. PHOTO/Kyros Sports
This year’s competition featured four teams led by hosts and defending champions Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tunisia and Namibia and was played on a round robin basis with the team accumulating the most points after three rounds declared the winner.
Kenya won all their games, starting off with victory over Namibia, who were the defending champions.
Both teams exchanged penalties early on, with Namibia’s Petrus Tromp and Kenya’s Patrick Wainaina each slotting one, leaving the score tied at 3-3 before Michael Wamalwa’s try pushed Chipu ahead 8-3.
A smooth passing sequence among Chipu’s backs set up Eugene Etale’s try, with James Olela converting to extend the lead to 15-3.
Namibia replied with Tromp’s second penalty, narrowing the gap to 15-6. Eugene Ojiambo capitalized on a loose ball, boosting Kenya’s lead to 20-6, followed by Olela’s penalty, which closed the first half with Chipu leading 23-6.
Namibia surged after halftime, scoring an unconverted try to make it 23-11 before Olela added another penalty, extending Kenya’s lead to 26-11. However, Namibia rallied, scoring 12 consecutive points to cut the lead to 26-23, before Olela’s penalty made it 29-23 for Chipu.
In a tense finale, Namibia closed the gap to one point with an unconverted try, making it 29-28, but the home boys secured the win with a late try.
Jawichre’s boys kept their momentum in the second game, seeing off Tunisia 56-17 in a dominant performance.
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