As the rugby world focuses on the Heineken Champions Cup and Super Rugby Pacific tournaments. The next generation of African rugby talent have been cutting their teeth at the Barthes U20 Trophy in Nairobi Kenya.
The competition consists of two pools of four teams. In pool A hosts Kenya are joined by Madagascar, Tunisia and Zambia. Whilst pool B consisted of Namibia, Senegal, Zimbabwe and Cote D’Ivoire.
The tournament presents developing Rugby nations with the opportunity to play regular fixtures whilst showcasing their emerging talent.
The fixtures themselves have been fiercely competitive with some excellent rugby on display. Highlight by tries like this from the Zambians who showed incredible vision and pace to get the ball out wide.
Today marks the start of the semi-finals with traditional powerhouses Namibia taking on the hosts Kenya at 2pm local time in what promises to be a hotly contested match up.
The second semi-final will see Zimbabwe tackle Madagascar at 4.30pm local time. For anyone who is unfamiliar with African rugby outside of South Africa, Madagascar has a very significant rugby playing population. In the capital city of Antananarivo there is a staggering 161 rugby clubs which for a city with a population of 1.6 million is incredible. Whilst their opponents Zimbabwe have produced world class players such as Tendai "The Beast" Mtawarira, Takudzwa Ngwenya, Don Armand, Dave Ewers and Brian Mujati to name a few.
In a tournament filled with highlights on the pitch it has been the Ugandan team’s celebration following their 26 - 19 win over rival Cote D’Ivoire that has been doing the rounds on social media.
Following today’s semi-finals the winners will be decided on the 17th of April with kick-off for the final taking place at 4.30pm local time.
All of the action can be followed on the Barthes tournament website here.
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