Namibia’s U/20 rugby side was yesterday named as one of eight participants set for this year’s Rugby Africa U/20 Barthes Cup, which will take place in Kenya from 9 to 17 April at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi. 

Namibia, along with Madagascar, Senegal, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Zambia and hosts Kenya were officially confirmed by the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) as the teams that will compete in the nine-day U/20 Barthes Cup. 

Last year, only three teams participated and they were Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal. Kenya’s
Chipu retained the title after taming Madagascar’s Junior Makis 21-20 in a pulsating final.

The U/20 Barthes trophy is the Rugby Africa U/20 championship. Teams compete on an annual basis, and the winners of the competition earn the right to represent the African continent at the World Rugby Junior Trophy. The championship is named after Jean-Luc Barthes, who was the rugby services manager for Rugby Africa. He passed away in 2016. The tournament began in 2007 with Uganda as the host, which saw Namibia winning the title. 

– ohembapu@nepc.com.na