Chipu seek revenge as they face Namibia in Rugby Africa Barthes Trophy final
National Under-20 Team Chipu Captain Edmund Omondi leads teammates in song and dance as they display their Barthes Trophy on April 29, 2024, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, when they arrived from Zimbabwe.
Kenya’s Chipu will be hoping to halt Namibia’s bid to retain the title when the two teams face off in the Rugby Africa Barthes Trophy final at the Mutesa II Stadium in Kampala, Uganda, at 4 pm today.
Both sides are chasing a record fourth continental title and qualification for the second-tier World Rugby Junior Trophy, which is scheduled to take place in Chile from October 2 to 17.
Chipu produced an impressive performance in both halves to defeat Zimbabwe 35-23 last Friday, while Namibia narrowly beat Tunisia 11-6 in a closely contested final.
Namibia dominated the final encounter in 2017, securing a comprehensive 66-24 victory against Chipu in Madagascar, and they retained the title in 2018 with a dominant 37-18 victory at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek.
Cipu exacted revenge against the champions for the first time, stunning them 21-18 in the deciding match of the 2019 championship at the KCB Sports Club in Ruaraka, Nairobi.
That ended Namibia’s dominance of the championships that was held as Africa Under-20 Division A for 10 years from 2007 to 2016 before transforming to Barthes Trophy in 2027 in honour of Jean-Luc Barthés from France, who was a key figure in the development of rugby in Africa. Barthes died on February 10, 2016.
Namibia won seven editions, including the opening two championships in 2007 and 2008. They beat Zimbabwe to second place on both occasions before winning back-to-back titles from 2012 to 2016. Zimbabwe also won three consecutive events from 2009 to 2011.
Following the cancellation of the 2020 event due to the Covid pandemic, Kenya returned in 2021 to retain the title, but lost it to Zimbabwe in 2022 and 2023.
Chipu recaptured the crown in 2024, beating Namibia and Zimbabwe 34–28 and 28–13 respectively, and Tunisia 56–17, thus topping the four-nation event unbeaten.
Last year, however, Chipu relinquished the title to Namibia after losing to them 32–22, despite beating Zimbabwe 21–20 and Tunisia 29–21.
Chipu head coach Simon Jawichre has made two changes to the side that beat Zimbabwe, bringing Joshua Monoo at lock, replacing Jaden Oyier while Innocent Indeche comes in for Mike Murethi at prop.
Squad
1. Daudi Jabita
2. Jibril Joseph
3. Innocent Indeche
4. Thomas Odhiambo
5. Joshua Monoo
6. John Ombango
7. Maxwell Kipsang
8. Justine Ng’ombe (C)
9. Michael Olukusi
10. Jackson Siketi
11. Abdul Zubeir
12. Rayvon Ambale
13. Dennis Ndayala
14. Brian Kiptanui
15. Faran Juma
Replacements
16. Monda Tsuyoshi
17. Jacktone Omanje
18. Chelsea Otieno
19. Randy Otuoma
20. Aldrine Andaje
21. Matrix Matangi
22. Loren Nyamolo
23. Ezekiel Apida
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