Kenya narrowly defeated Madagascar 21-20 at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Sunday to retain the U20 Barthes Trophy.
Kenya had won the 2019 edition defeating Namibia 21-18. The 2020 edition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournament had added significance as Kenya hosted its first international rugby event since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March last year.
Kenya scored three tries through Maxwell Atera, vice-captain Matoka Matoka and captain John Baraka while Matoka, who was named man of the match, kicked two penalties.
Madagascar replied with three tries of their own along with one conversion and one penalty.
Kenya had already qualified for the 2022 World Junior Trophy but were happy to be able to defend their title.
“The game was a bit tense in the first half, the scores were tight, but we managed to widen the gap in the second half,” Baraka said after the match.
“We gave in to pressure in the last minutes but in the end our teamwork and defence won it for us.”
Meanwhile, Kenya, Namibia and Cote d’Ivoire all secured their places in the 2022 Rugby Africa Cup (RAC) quarterfinals.
Kenya defeated Zambia 45-8 and though Cote d’Ivoire lost 19-24 to Madagascar, the West African side and Namibia advanced based on differences between points scored and points conceded in each match.
The Rugby Africa Cup tournament next year will act as the 2023 Rugby World Cup qualification tournament for Africa.
