NAIROBI, Kenya, August 11, 2026 – Ahead of their Barthes Cup Under 20 final showdown against Namibia, Kenya have been burning the midnight oil, crafting a strategy on how to contain the defending champions.
Chipu’s forwards coach Carlos Katywa says they are aware of the threat posed by the southern Africans, predicting that their opponents will come out guns blazing.
“One thing we can’t do is to undermine Namibia because they had a bad game on Day One. They will be coming hard, guns blazing for us; they want to prove a point maybe it was game one jitters so we are very aware of what they can do. They’ve got a very fast back line as well a lot of good steppers so when we did our defense, there’s a few tricks we have up our sleeves that we want to deploy,” the South African divulged.
The two sides lock horns at the Wankulukuku Stadium in Kampala on Tuesday evening, with the Barthes Cup at stake.
Chipu booked a date with the defending champions courtesy of a hard-fought 35-23 victory over Zimbabwe on Friday afternoon, two hours after the Namibians had laboured to a 11-6 win over Tunisia, at the same venue.
Katywa believes the youngsters have shown maturity that belies their age, picking up instructions like a fish to water — in such a short time.
“The guys are looking extremely good and they look like they’re hungry. These boys have just done something that is extraordinary which is almost a self-driven team in terms of the leaders that we’ve selected. We didn’t have much time to prepare but you’d think they have been together for a very long time,” the Kabras Sugar tactician observed.
Being in charge of the forwards, Katywa is optimistic their strategy will pay dividends come the hour of reckoning.
The South African further revealed they have ironed out the rough edges to their defence, which almost proved a banana peel in their first match against the Junior Sables.
“One particular area that we were concerned was the accumulation of penalties so our discipline was one thing that we’ve discussed. I think we’ve got a very electric back line and I’m just actually happy with how we have come together with the forwards. They’re gonna set up a good platform for the backs so basically we’re just gonna go out there and enjoy ourselves play the rugby that we know we can play best,” he said.
Both teams come into the tie evenly balanced as far as the results of previous meetings are concerned.
They have faced each other six times — from 2018 to date — winning on three occasions each.
At last year’s competition, Namibia walked home with the bragging rights, winning 32-22, on their way to clinching the trophy.
