This archive report was first published on 12 July 2021.
On Sunday, the Kenya national Under 20 rugby team, Chipu, successfully retained the Rugby Africa U20 Barthes Cup title they won in 2019 with a thrilling 21-20 win over a resilient Madagascar side at Nyayo Stadium.
Chipu's victory came after a closely contested match, with the team's players, including Maxwell Atera, Andrew Matoka, and John Baraka, making crucial contributions to the win.
Madagascar had entered the match with momentum, having defeated Namibia 21-18 in their previous game, while Kenya had thrashed Senegal 50-3.
Chipu's Curtis Olago started the match impressively, grounding the ball for the first try in the fifth minute, which gave Kenya an early lead of 5-0.
However, Madagascar responded with a try of their own in the 38th minute through Erica Bruno, cutting Kenya's lead to 13-5.
The match remained intense, with Madagascar's captain, Setra Solofoniaina, scoring a try and converting it to cut Chipu's lead at the break to 13-12.
Despite Madagascar's late push, Kenya managed to hold on to their lead, with Matoka stretching their advantage to 16-12 after converting a penalty, and captain Baraka touching down Kenya's third try off a maul for a 21-12 lead.
Madagascar's late penalty and try with Fionana Rolland failing to convert at the death ultimately handed Kenya a 21-20 win.
