Chipu beat Namibia, storm back to the Barthes cup final

© KRU

RUGBY Chipu beat Namibia, storm back to the Barthes cup final

Mark Kinyanjui 21:45 - 26.04.2023

Kenya U20 made the home crowd at Nyayo Stadium proud with a win over Namibia.

The 2019 and 2021 U20 Barthes Trophy champions, Chipu are back to the final of the tourney after beating Namibia 24-13 in an exciting semi-final fixture that took place at the Nyayo Stadium on Wednesday.

Namibia took the lead through a penalty, but it would be short-lived. Following a couple of missed opportunities, Chipu managed to set up a successful maul in the Namibian danger zone which Wambugu managed to sneak in to give the Kenyan crowd in attendance a reason to smile. The half-time score, was 7-3 to the hosts.

Namibia came out guns blazing in the second-half as they capitalized on a blunder by Chipu to land a converted try and wrestle back the lead.

A resilient Chipu side would not take being behind for an answer. They would instantly land an unconverted try through center Felix Chacha before Zimbabwe landed a penalty.

The home team, cheered on by a sizeable home-crowd would then score another 12 unanswered points to book a slot to the much-anticipated final on Sunday 30 April.

Speaking after the game, Kenya U20 head coach Curtis Olago termed the win as a mission his team needed to accomplish.

“It is always a hard game playing Namibia, they beat us last year so this is a mission we needed to accomplish.”

“We are in yet another final, meeting our good friends Zimbabwe, the most important thing is we are both heading to the Junior World Trophy. I am sure we will have an entertaining final,” adds Olago.

Kenya will host the 2023 Junior World Trophy in July. Having already qualified as the hosts, Zimbabwe are also officially qualified for the July competition, having booked a slot in the final of the cup.