Under-20 team needs to pull up socks, again
A high error rate marred the Namibian performance on day one of the Rugby Africa Under 20 Barthés Cup in Nairobi, in an unconvincing 20-12 win over lowly Zambia on Saturday.
In the pouring rain before and during the match, the Namibians rarely got into their stride, with a generally slow tempo and a lot of unforced handling errors.
Captain Joe Losper and his men progressed to face an ever-confident Kenya in the semi-final on Wednesday.
It took 20 minutes for the first points of quarter-final, as Namibian flyhalf Ethan Koopman succeeded with a penalty.
Their first try came from a strong midfield carry off a lineout by lock Hastings Minyoi, who fed centre Owen Hawanga with a short pass to score, as both crashed through several half-hearted Zambian tackles. Koopman converted to make it 10-0.
Gap
Shortly after half-time, the Namibians forced a penalty try as the Zambians illegally interfered with their advancing lineout maul.
With Zambia narrowing the gap to 17-12 with four penalties by fly half Tendai Cedric, the Namibians closed off the show with one more penalty by replacement centre William Klazen.
Later on Saturday, the host nation stormed to a 44-20 win against their neighbours, Uganda. Kenya scored five tries in the first half to lead 29-13 and added three more after the break.
Zimbabwe also showed their intent to hold on to their Rugby Africa junior title when they stormed to a 55-0 win against Ivory Coast. Next up for Zimbabwe will be Tunisia (as 54-16 winners over Madagascar).
Rankings
On the senior men’s World Rugby rankings, Namibia is placed 21st and Zambia 69th – which indicates how the junior team did the bare minimum to avoid embarrassment. Kenya is 33rd and Zimbabwe is 31st in the senior rankings.
In 2022, the Namibians lifted their performance to eliminate Kenya in the semi-final before going down narrowly to Zimbabwe in the final.
The Rugby Africa winner will qualify for this year’s World Rugby U20 Trophy tournament, which will also be held in Kenya.
In the pouring rain before and during the match, the Namibians rarely got into their stride, with a generally slow tempo and a lot of unforced handling errors.
Captain Joe Losper and his men progressed to face an ever-confident Kenya in the semi-final on Wednesday.
It took 20 minutes for the first points of quarter-final, as Namibian flyhalf Ethan Koopman succeeded with a penalty.
Their first try came from a strong midfield carry off a lineout by lock Hastings Minyoi, who fed centre Owen Hawanga with a short pass to score, as both crashed through several half-hearted Zambian tackles. Koopman converted to make it 10-0.
Gap
Shortly after half-time, the Namibians forced a penalty try as the Zambians illegally interfered with their advancing lineout maul.
With Zambia narrowing the gap to 17-12 with four penalties by fly half Tendai Cedric, the Namibians closed off the show with one more penalty by replacement centre William Klazen.
Later on Saturday, the host nation stormed to a 44-20 win against their neighbours, Uganda. Kenya scored five tries in the first half to lead 29-13 and added three more after the break.
Zimbabwe also showed their intent to hold on to their Rugby Africa junior title when they stormed to a 55-0 win against Ivory Coast. Next up for Zimbabwe will be Tunisia (as 54-16 winners over Madagascar).
Rankings
On the senior men’s World Rugby rankings, Namibia is placed 21st and Zambia 69th – which indicates how the junior team did the bare minimum to avoid embarrassment. Kenya is 33rd and Zimbabwe is 31st in the senior rankings.
In 2022, the Namibians lifted their performance to eliminate Kenya in the semi-final before going down narrowly to Zimbabwe in the final.
The Rugby Africa winner will qualify for this year’s World Rugby U20 Trophy tournament, which will also be held in Kenya.
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