Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema-Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOR many, the sight of a Kenyan rugby outfit celebrating their Barthes Trophy win a little too animatedly in front of the Zimbabwe fans still lingers in the back of their minds.
The year was 2024.
Zimbabwe were on the cusp of a hat-trick of Barthes Trophy titles after back-to-back triumphs in 2022 and 2023, ironically, in Kenya.
The fact that they were hosting the competition only heightened expectations.
Unfortunately, Kenya had other plans.
The East Africans put on a show on their way to a 28-13 triumph in the final at Harare Sports Club.
What followed, after the final whistle was five minutes of wild and exaggerated celebration from the Kenyan youngsters, who had exorcised two years of watching Zimbabwe dominate them on home soil.
Kenya then completed their redemption arc last year when they, yet again, beat Zimbabwe 21-20 at home.
Now, the two teams appear set to meet again as the Barthes Trophy gets underway in Uganda this morning.
This year’s championship, slated for August 7-15, has introduced a revamped competition format designed to strengthen age-grade rugby across the continent by providing teams with more competitive fixtures and creating a clearer development pathway for emerging rugby nations.
The tournament has been split into two tiers, starting with the Performance Division, which will feature Zimbabwe, defending champions Namibia, Kenya, and Tunisia.
Hosts Uganda, Zambia, and Madagascar will compete in the First Division.
The revised structure means every game carries significant importance, with little margin for error.
The main competition will kick off, this morning, at the semi-final stage, with Namibia playing Tunisia first and then Zimbabwe and Kenya rekindling their rivalry in the second match of the day.
Zimbabwe and Kenya are totally different outfits from the 2024 edition, but Junior Sables coach has gone on record to admit that a little payback is way overdue.
“We were definitely on a high trajectory back in 2024, and our hearts were broken when we lost that final and failed to go to the Junior World Trophy in Scotland,” said De Souza.
“We will definitely have to work hard to redeem ourselves, but we can only do that by winning the trophy back,” he said.
De Souza’s captain, Takudzwa Matsvimbo, however, is singing a totally different tune heading into today’s match.
Matsvimbo is on his last tour with the Junior Sables and wants to ride off into the sunset on a high.
Currently studying at Stellenbosch University, the former Lomagundi College student already has ambitions of graduating into the senior rugby team, the Sables.
However, before that, Matsvimbo has one more item to check off his bucket list, and that is a Barthes Trophy title.
He was part of last year’s disastrous Barthes Trophy campaign and wants to atone for that.
And he believes that the current team has what it takes to get the job done.
“I’m very confident in the preparations that we have put in over the last couple of months,” said Matsvimbo.
“A lot of the boys have learnt a lot and gained a lot of experience.
“The coach picked the right men for the job.
“We know what everyone is capable of, and I trust everyone on this squad,” he said.
Zimbabwe arrived in Uganda on Wednesday, with the team going through their captain’s run yesterday.
And the team was all smiles in the lead-up to today’s game, with Matsvimbo raving about the bond within the group.
