Harare, Zimbabwe – 23 April 2025, Namibia emerged as favourites to win the Under-20 Barthés Trophy after a strong second-half performance propelled them to a 32-22 victory over defending champions Kenya, while hosts Zimbabwe hammered Tunisia 78-20 to stay alive in the tournament.
The first match at the Old Hararians Sports Club produced a low-scoring first half, mainly due to Namibia not converting possession into points and Kenya defending gallantly. Namibia led 3-0 at the break courtesy of a penalty by their impressive flyhalf Schalk Kuhn.
The Namibians switched to a higher gear in the second half, with their heavier forward pack taking control of the game, resulting in most of their tries being scored from mauls.
Credit to Kenya, they hung on for dear life in the second half, at one point leading and not allowing Namibia to run away with it.
But the East Africans were eventually edged out by five tries to four. Lock John Campbell grabbed a brace of tries, while his fellow second-row Arenzo Izaaks, flank Claus Otto, and fullback Alfred Vercuil also crossed the whitewash.
The hard-running inside-centre Daniel Kipchirchir, who showcased his all-round qualities by relishing contact throughout the game, dotted down to score twice for Kenya. Right winger Javan Okwaro and left winger Brian Kiptanui also got on the scorecard, but Chipu ran out of time to launch a late surge.
In the second match of the Under-20 Barthés Trophy round-robin tournament, Zimbabwe ran riot to blitz Tunisia 50-0 at half-time after an enterprising period of play by their backline.
Winger Shammah Jackson led the rout with a hat-trick of tries, while outside-centre Tadiwanashe Maradze scored twice in a try-fest for the hosts.
Zimbabwe, however, didn’t finish the game as they started, allowing Tunisia to enjoy a fair share of possession in the end.
The Tunisians tested Zimbabwe physically with a driving maul, which led to their first try from scrumhalf Mohamed Amine El Mejri. Lock forwards Abdelmouemen Zairi and Mohamed Yassine Dimassi also scored as the North Africans finished with a respectable score on the board.
Tunisia will wrap up their campaign against rejuvenated Namibia on Sunday, 27 April 2025 while Zimbabwe are hoping to end on a winning note against Kenya.
Organised by Rugby Africa (www.rugbyafrique.com), the continental governing body of Rugby across Africa, in partnership with Zimbabwe Rugby Union the 2025 tournament features host nation Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tunisia and Kenya. With streaming provided by Sports AI (https://www.sportsai.tv)
Streaming
Rugby Africa Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RugbyAfrique
Match Day 1: Saturday 19 April 2025 (Local Time) (CAT)
- 12:00 – Kenya (29) vs Tunisia (21)
- 15:00 – Zimbabwe (22) vs Namibia (41)
Match Day 2: Wednesday 23 April 2025 (Local Time) (CAT)
- 12:00 – Kenya (22) vs Namibia (32)
- 15:00 – Zimbabwe (78) vs Tunisia (20)
Match Day 3: Sunday 27 April 2025 (Local Time) (CAT)
- 11:00 – Namibia vs Tunisia
- 15:00 – Kenya vs Zimbabwe
