Zimbabwe aims to make it three in-a-row

THE Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) says it is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to win the Barthes Trophy three times in a row.

Zimbabwe is the defending champion of the competition which is the only junior tournament in Africa and has eight countries that take part annually.

The countries are Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, Madagascar, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The competition is set for April and the host country is yet to be named.

ZRU vice-president Martin Shone says the top priority for the Young Sables is to retain the prestigious Under-20 competition title.

“The plan is already in place for the junior team. They started their training camps last year. When you are the defending champions you are the hunted and as such we have to up our game. We lost some players from the previous squad but we have several others who have come through. The coaches are still the same and they have our full support. We have most of the players playing in the Under-20 league which will start soon which gives us enough time to assess their progress. We have newcomers in the league and that will boost our player hunt. We are definitely on the right track, we are leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of defending our Barthes Trophy,” said Shone.

The competition is named after the late World Rugby’s Services Manager for Africa, Jean-Luc Barthes.

Organised by Rugby Africa, the Barthes Under-20 Trophy is the official African Rugby Championship for national teams in the age bracket.

The Barthes Trophy has unearthed future stars of the African game over the years and continues to serve as a talent identification platform and elite player pathway.

The tournament, which serves as Africa’s Under-20 championship features eight teams and is played on a knockout basis.

The Junior Sables have won the previous two editions of the competition. In 2022 Zimbabwe were champions after they beat Namibia 19-14 to end an 11-year trophy drought. Last year they won the competition after beating Kenya 28-7. — @innocentskizoe.