U20 Barthes Trophy: Kenya Chipu heap misery on Uganda

Kenya U20 were off to flying starts after seeing off neighbouring Uganda U20 44-20 in the final quarterfinal match of the Barthes U20 Trophy held at the Nyayo National Stadium on Saturday 22. The famously nicknamed ‘Battle For Migingo’ went underway despite the inconsistent weather that saw it rain at a point.

This was the second consecutive clash between the two neighbors at this level of competition. The last meeting ended 54-20 in favor of Chipu in the quarterfinals last year. Curtis Olago’s charges would then lose to Namibia 16-5 in the semis. They settled for bronze after thrashing Madagascar 49-15 in the third-place playoff.

Since then, the Chipu have not been in action.

The opening minutes of the match was closely contested, with both sides exchanging five-pointers. Kenya’s first visit to Uganda’s home saw them come out with points courtesy of a try from Patrick Wainaina. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

The contest was clearly shaping up before the game was stopped as medics attended to a Chipu player.

The Kenyans were at it again. From the lineout, Kenyans claimed the ball, formed a maul, and in no time, it was Wycliffe Ogutu going over with the second try for Chipu. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

Before Chipu bid goodbye to Uganda’s red zone, a series of passes were showcased before Patrick Wainaina set up Wycliffe Ogutu for his second try which was the third for Kenya. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

Chipu would then infringe twice but the visitors failed to collect the points.

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Kenya then scored another try that came from a series of passes, and Jeremy Odhiambo set up Captain Laban Kipsang for Chipu’s fourth try. The conversion was successful to see the scores at 22-5. One more converted try followed from the hosts before Jeremy Odhiambo went out with an injury. 29-5.

The Kenyans then infringed, causing Uganda to gain three points off a penalty courtesy of Robert Ssentego. After minutes of hard work, Steward Michael caught the Kenyan defense napping and went over with Uganda’s second try. Ssentego missed the conversion to see the scores at 29-13 at halftime.

The Kenyans came in guns blazing in the second half, executing set plays that further put the final nail in Uganda’s coffin. Chipu managed their opening try through Patrick Wainaina. Edith Wambugu’s attempt to convert went wide. The visitors then responded with an unconverted five-pointer to see the scores rise to 34-18.

Kenya would further score through Mike Oduor, Victor Odhiambo, and Eddy Wambugu to see the final score at 44-20.

Chipu have qualified for the semis and will face Namibia.

Meanwhile, Tunisia upset Madagascar 50-16 in the third quarterfinal. Defending champions Zimbabwe saw off Cote d'Ivoire 55-00 in the first quarterfinal while Namibia defeated Zambia 20-12.