Zimbabwe overpower Kenya Chipu for fifth place in U20 Trophy

The junior men's national rugby 15s side, Kenya Chipu, failed in their quest to avenge their 2023 Barthes Cup defeat to Zimbabwe back in April as the Southern Africans came even better in the World Rugby U20 Trophy recording a huge 64-10 victory to secure a 5th place finish in the tournament.

Inside thirty minutes, Kenya were already trailing 26-0 and by the half time interval the Zimbabweans had pulled to a 33-0 in a one-sided affair in front of the well-attended African derby staged at the Nyayo National Stadium.

Try as they might, the hosts could not just lay a finger on the Zimbabweans who played on a much different wavelength, especially in the opening half, as they confirmed their burgeoning reputation as a rugby powerhouse in the continent.

Kenya managed to get their first points on the board just six minutes shy of the hour mark when Faran Juma nailed a penalty before James Asanga touched down for the team's first try scored after Zimbabwe were shown a red card.

It, however, proved to be just mere consolation as the fourteen-man Zimbabwe regathered and pushed the score line even further to secure a fifth-place finish alongside the African bragging rights once again.

Earlier, openside Monroe Job scored a hat-trick on his U20 debut as clinical Scotland secured third place in the U20 Trophy with a 12-try, 83-10 win over Samoa in the bronze final.

If Andrew McLean had converted Will Reid’s last-minute try, Scotland would have signed off the tournament with the third-highest match score of all time in the U20 Trophy.

The game came after USA opened the final day's action at the World Rugby U20 Trophy, securing a seventh-place finish with a comfortable 47-22 win over Hong Kong China.

A hat-trick of tries from back-rower Hayden McKay and a brace from winger Aaron Faison – on his first start – eased USA to the comfortable victory.