National Under-20 rugby team coach Chrysander Botha has said his team is ready to take on host nation Kenya in the Barthes Trophy currently underway in Nairobi.

Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Zambia and Madagascar are competing in the 2022 edition of the Barthes Trophy, which started on 09 April and ends on 17 April 2022.

The competition, which is being played on a knockout basis, saw Namibia beating Ivory Coast 62-0 on Saturday to reach the semi-finals. Kenya beat Uganda 54-20.

In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, Botha said they have done what they can ahead of their clash against Kenya on Wednesday at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.

“The emphasis was on fixing our mistakes and working on what we identified as threats from the Kenyan team. We learned that they play with massive tempo and are good with the ball in hand, and also protect the ball well,” said Botha.

The coach added that their main focus for this game is to use their work rate well.

“It’s going to be physical tomorrow in a game that will be looked at as a final for us because playing the host nation is not easy, but we are ready with what we have done so far and looking forward to the clash,” said Botha.

He added that they have made changes to how they will approach the game and are therefore looking forward to playing to the best of their abilities.

“You cannot play rugby if you are not physical. The Kenyan team gains a lot of momentum with their pick up as well and have a very physical loose forward and an outside centre that has a lot of speed,” he said.

In the opening round of the Rugby Africa Barthes Trophy, Namibia’s Geraldo Beukes topped the points scorers with 19 points coming off three tries and two conversions.

Uganda’s Daniel Okello is second on 15 points having scored one try, two penalties and two conversions, while Kenya’s Tonny Oketch is third on 11 points coming off four conversions and one penalty.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency