Kenya's Under-20 men's 15-a-side team, Chipu, have clinched a record fourth Rugby Africa U20 Barthes Trophy and qualified for the World Rugby Junior Trophy after thumping perennial rivals Namibia 33-14 in the Performance Division final on Tuesday, August 11.
Five tries from scrum-half Michael Andale Olukusi, hooker Jibril Lugonzo, winger Brian Kiptanui, centre Rayvon Amunga Ambale and replacement forward Randy Otuoma assured Kenya of a fourth Barthes Trophy, one more than Namibia.
“The Namibians came hard at us, but we managed to control the game,” explained Kenya captain Justine Ng’ombe. “We didn’t expect that they would be this tough, considering that they did not play particularly well against Tunisia in the semi-finals.”
Kenya raced to 14-0 at half-time, with Andale weaving delightfully through the Namibia defence to score the first try near the uprights before powerful hooker Lugonzo crashed over for the second following strong carries by lock Thomas Opiyo.
Namibia replied early in the second half following relentless pressure on the try-line, which resulted in flanker Nzola Nkunku shrugging off a heavy challenge to ground the ball as Kenya tried hard to hold him up.
Namibia winger Ethan Sinden further cut Kenya’s lead with a try of his own, but three second-half tries from Kiptanui, Ambale and Otuoma put Chipu firmly in control despite Namibia's attempts to fight back at Muteesa II Stadium.
The Kenyans have been an lethal throughout the four-nation tournament, first humbling Junior Sables of Zimbabwe 35-21 in the semi-finals on August 7 in another huge performance in which the forward pack dominated the contest up front and set the platform for their lively backs to flourish.
It was the same script against Namibia, who, besides relinquishing the title, have now fallen behind Kenya in terms of Barthes Trophy titles.
Kenya are now the most successful team in the history of Africa’s premier youth rugby competition, which was rebranded in 2016 and named after Jean-Luc Barthes, the late World Rugby Services Manager for Africa. Chipu were champions in 2019, 2021, 2024 and now 2026.
Kenya hosted World Rugby Junior Trophy in 2009 at the RFUEA Grounds and 2024 at Nyayo National Stadium and went to Brazil for the 2019 edition.
