Aston Lukoye
In a thrilling encounter at Nyayo National Stadium, Kenya U20 defeated Uganda U20 44-20 in the quarterfinals of the Barthes U20 Trophy.
This was the second consecutive meeting between the two neighbors at this level of competition, with Kenya having won the previous encounter 54-20 in the quarterfinals last year.
Kenya U20 impressive start
The match started with both teams exchanging tries, but Kenya quickly took control of the game. Patrick Wainaina scored the opening try for Kenya, which was followed by two more tries from Wycliffe Ogutu. Jeremy Odhiambo then set up Captain Laban Kipsang for Chipu’s fourth try, with the conversion making it 22-5 in Kenya’s favor.
Kenya 44-20 Uganda #UgandaRugbyU20 #U20BarthesTrophy
— Uganda Rugby Union (@UgandaRugby) April 22, 2023
Uganda managed to score a penalty kick and a try before halftime, but Kenya dominated in the second half. Patrick Wainaina, Mike Oduor, Victor Odhiambo, and Eddy Wambugu all scored tries for Kenya, while Uganda managed to score only one more try. The final score was 44-20 in favor of Kenya.
Kenya to face Namibia
This victory sees Kenya progress to the semifinals of the Barthes U20 Trophy, where they will face Namibia. Kenya will be hoping to improve on last year’s performance, where they lost to Namibia in the semifinals and had to settle for bronze after thrashing Madagascar in the third-place playoff.
