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Innocent Kurira
ZIMBABWE Rugby Union (ZRU) vice-president Martin Shone has said they are ready to host to the forthcoming 2024 eight-day Barthes Trophy contest that will be played at Harare’s Old Georgians club next month.
The competition will run from April 20 to 28 and will feature hosts Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya and Tunisia.
“We are looking forward to the event as the hosts. The preparations are well on course and we are hopeful we will stage a successful competition. As the hosts we would want to win the tournament in front of our home fans and win the title three times in a row,” said Shone.
Organised by Rugby Africa, the Barthes Under-20 Trophy is the official African Rugby Championship for national teams in the age bracket. 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 drought for the trophy. Last year, they won the competition after beating hosts Kenya 28-7.
The winner of this year’s Barthes Trophy will then join Uruguay, the Netherlands, and the United States of America or Canada in Pool B of the World Rugby Under-20 Trophy set for July 2-17 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Zimbabwe is in camp with coach Shaun De Souza hoping to use the Nedbank Rugby Challenge, which is a local pre-season tournament, as part of his preparations for both the Barthes Trophy and hopefully, the Junior World Trophy.
Zimbabwe has always produced some of the finest junior rugby players on the continent with its schools’ rugby system providing a regular dosage of exciting talent. However, some of the country’s most promising young rugby players are lost along the way and don’t make the transition to play for the Sables.
Tournament’s Fixtures
Match Day 1: Kenya v Namibia , Zimbabwe v Tunisia
Match Day 2: Kenya v Tunisia , Zimbabwe v Namibia
Match Day 3: Namibia v Tunisia, Zimbabwe v Kenya
Online Reporter