Chipu, Madagascar game postponed in U20 Barthes Rugby Tourney

The Kenya U20 rugby national team, popularly known as Chipu, will have to wait until the weekend to play its second game against Madagascar in the ongoing U20 Barthes Trophy being held at Nyayo National Stadium.

Chipu, who are the hosts and defending champions of the junior tournament, were initially scheduled to play Madagascar today, 29th June but challenges in arrival from the visiting nation have forced the fixture to be pushed over to the weekend.

Due to the challenges posed by the novel Covid-19 pandemic, Madagascar’s chances of making an appearance in the tournament had been thrown into disarray after their airspace was closed for the last three weeks following a spike in their infection rates.

However, latest reports confirm that the team is now set to honour its fixtures in the tournament after they managed to secure a chartered flight that will hopefully fly them in by Wednesday.

“Madagascar have secured a chartered flight out of Antanana. Their airspace has been closed for the last three weeks due to the Covid-19 situation. They will land in Nairobi on Wednesday 30 June ahead of their U20 Barthes Trophy fixtures against Senegal on 3 July and Kenya on 11 July at the Nyayo National Stadium,” Kenya Rugby Union posted in a statement.

Also landing in Nairobi on the same flight will be the Madagascar’s women’s team who will play two test matches against Kenya Lionesses.

Chipu started their defense of the Barthes Trophy on a strong note as they dispatched Senegal 50 – 3 in the opening match of the junior tournament that took place this past Saturday, inspired play from Andrew Matoka Matoka ensuring the Curtis Olago-led side lay down a marker in their quest for this year’s title once again.