U20 Barthes Trophy: Kenya Chipu to face Namibia in confirmed semifinal pairings

Rugby Africa has confirmed the timings and schedule for the semifinal fixtures at the ongoing U20 Barthes Trophy.

The action at the Nyayo National Stadium kicks off with two fifth place classification 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.

The second match sees Zambia taking on Uganda. Zambia were edged 20-12 by Namibia as Uganda were 44-20 losers against Kenya.

Defending champions Zimbabwe will take on Tunisia in the third fixture of the day will face Tunisia as hosts Kenya take on Namibia in a repeat of last year’s semifinal.

The U20 Barthes Trophy is the Africa U20 championship and also serves as the qualification tournament for the World Rugby U20 Trophy which this year will be played in Nairobi from 15-30 July.

Eight teams will compete over four match days, with the victor advancing to the U20 Championship in 2024. Kenya has participated in the event twice before, in 2009 and 2019. This will be their third appearance.

The participating teams for the World Rugby U20 Trophy 2023 are: Scotland (relegated from the U20 Championship in 2019), Kenya (hosts), Hong Kong (Asia), Samoa (Oceania), Spain (Europe), Uruguay (South America), and two teams from North America and Africa that still need to qualify through regional competition.

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Rugby Africa U20 Barthes Trophy

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

Venue: Nyayo National Stadium