In Nairobi, the "Chipus", the under-20s Kenyan selection, emerged as victors from the African Under-20 Championship Tournament, beating the Namibians, the previously unconquered title-holders. This was an remarkable victory dislodging Namibia from its throne for the first time.
In another surprise of the tournament, Senegal, ranked 4th, managed to beat the Tunisian delegation which was ranked first in its group in 2018. The Senegalese team availed of every opportunity to demonstrate the progress they have made and how motivated they are. This very promising team has now been promoted to Group A for 2020.
The under-20 Tunisian team will be relegated to Group B for 2020 and their place will be allocated to the winner of the next Group B tournament. However, the competition is not over yet and the next stage of the festivities are planned for Harare, Zimbabwe from 17th to 20th April, 2019.
The teams of Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Ivory Coast and Morocco will compete for the coveted spot in Group A. The tournament will conclude in Uganda where, for the first time, teams from Uganda, Ghana and Zambia will participate in the junior tournament.
This competition is also the first since Rugby Africa's recent affiliation with Société Générale, the official partner for the development of rugby in Africa. This represents a real breakthrough for the image of African rugby and, in particular, for rugby played by young people.
Our memories of these two days of matches are of a vibrant festival of African rugby, where nations from the north, south, east and west participated and gave us a glimpse of the high quality game we can expect in the years to come.
Results
DAYS 1 – 4 April 2019
Namibie vs Senegal: 45 – 12
Match Officials:
Main Referee: Youness Marfoq (Morocco)
Assistant 1 : Ignace N’Dri Kan (Ivory Coast)
Assistant 2 : Sanae Benatiya (Morocco)
Referee Managers: Salem Attalah (FFR) and Johnbosco Muamaba (Rugby Africa)
Citing Commissioner: Mudiwa Mundawarara (Zimbabwe)
Legal Officer: Bongai Zamchiya
Match Commissioner: Godwin Karuga
Match Docteur: James Ocholla
Kenya vs Tunisia: 73 – 0
Match Officials:
Main Referee: Saudah Adiru (Uganda)
Assistant 1: Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe)
Assistant 2: Talent Gandiwa (Zimbabwe)
Referee Managers: Salem Attalah (FFR) and Johnbosco Muamaba (Rugby Africa)
Citing Commissioner: Mudiwa Mundawarara (Zimbabwe)
Legal Officer: Bongai Zamchiya
Match Commissioner: Denver Wannies
Match Docteur: James Ocholla
DAYS 2 – 7 April 2019
Senegal vs Tunisia: 28 – 16
Match Officials:
Main Referee: Ignace N’Dri Kan (Ivory Coast)
Assistant 1: Youness Marfoq (Morocco)
Assistant 2: Sanae Benatiya (Morocco)
Referee Managers: Salem Attalah (FFR) and Johnbosco Muamaba (Rugby Africa)
Citing Commissioner: Mudiwa Mundawarara (Zimbabwe)
Legal Officer: Bongai Zamchiya
Match Commissioner: Godwin Karuga
Match Docteur: James Ocholla
Namibia vs Kenya: 18 – 21
Match Officials:
Main Referee: Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe)
Assistant 1: Saudah Adiru (Uganda)
Assistant 2: Talent Gandiwa (Zimbabwe)
Referee Managers: Salem Attalah (FFR) and Johnbosco Muamaba (Rugby Africa)
Citing Commissioner: Mudiwa Mundawarara (Zimbabwe)
Legal Officer: Bongai Zamchiya
Match Commissioner: Denver Wannies
Match Docteur: James Ocholla
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Rugby Africa.
