Kenya Chipu upbeat ahead of do or die semis against Namibia in Barthes Trophy

The national U20 rugby 15s side Kenya Chipu will be eyeing revenge on Wednesday afternoon when they face Namibia for a place in the final of the 2023 U20 Barthes trophy currently ongoing at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.

Having been denied a chance of defending their title last year by the same opponents who advanced to the championship decider against Zimbabwe after a 5-16 win over Kenya, the Curtis Olago coached side will be seeking to make amends for that loss when they take to the field in the final clash of matchday 2.

Buoyed by their 44-20 victory against Uganda in the opening match, Kenya Chipu will look to exploit Namibia’s weakness who just managed to book their last four ticket following a 20-12 win over Zambia.

Speaking ahead of the match, Louis Kisia, the team’s assistant coach, revealed the team had assessed their shortcomings after the opening match day and were ready to take on Namibia in the match anticipated to produce fireworks.

“The boys are upbeat and ready to take on Namibia. We had a very good session on Monday and brushed through everything that did not work for us in the previous game especially on defending the short pick, the pick and go and the chase line.

There is nothing to worry about and we hope that all the boys come in ready and execute what the coaches have taught them and at the end of it all I think the result will favour us,” the coach said.

On the other hand, Namibia’s head coach Ryan Clinton Alexander hoped his side, one of the tournament favorites, will overcome the challenge of the inconsistent Nairobi weather after having to play in wet conitions following the heavy downpour on Saturday.

“We have been working on the weather. The game against Zambia was a very difficult game. I think any team would have struggled just to put plays together but we have to work on what we can do in both dry and wet weather conditions,” he told the media.

In the other semifinal, defending champions Zimbabwe will take on Tunisia in the third fixture of the day.

In the placement matches, Cote d’ Ivoire who lost their opening match 55-0 to Zimbabwe are up against Madagascar in the day’s opening clash.

Madagascar, runners up in 2021 and semifinalists in 2022 were eliminated from title contention with a 50-16 defeat to Tunisia.

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Match Day 2, Wednesday 26 April 2023

5th Place Semis

Cote d’Ivoire v Madagascar | 9.00am

Zambia v Uganda | 11.30am

Semis

Zimbabwe v Tunisia | 2.00pm

Namibia v Kenya | 4.30pm

Additional reporting by Tabby Nashipae