Kenya Chipu are the 2026 Barthes Cup champions after beating Namibia 33-14 at Muteesa II Stadium in Wankulukuku.
The Chipu came out with full intent to dethrone the Namibians, who beat them in last year’s final.
First, scrumhalf Michael Olukusi’s brilliance was on full display as he caught a napping Namibian defence to run through for the first try of the game, which was converted by Rayvon Amunga.
Kenya then extended their lead to 14 points through a try from Jibril Lugonzo, converted by Faran Mutemi to assert their dominance in the first half.
In the second half, Namibia came out of the locker room a different side and applied pressure on the East Africans. An attempted penalty kick by William Beukes swung wide, but the Namibians kept applying themselves, especially in the Kenyan red zone, going away with a Nzola Nkunku try converted by Beukes to bring the game to 14-7.
Despite that improvement from the Namibians, the Kenyans were still in charge of the game, and they extended their lead to 19 points, thanks to the quick thinking of Lukusi and the finish from Jackson Siketi. Mutemi was once again called upon to add the extras, but his attempt went wide.
However, that missed attempt didn’t deter the Kenya inside centre Amunga as he went over for a try of his own, which he converted to bring the score to 26-7 for Kenya.
At that point, the game looked like it was over, but the Namibians made some personnel changes on the pitch that created another try for them from Ethan Sinden, converted by Luther van Wyk.
With the time on the clock well spent and the score at 26-14 for Kenya, it looked like the game would end that way, but the Kenyans had one more try in them that came through Randy Otuoma after a scintillating line break from Siketi. Amunga’s conversion brought the score to 33-14 before Lukusi kicked the ball out to end the game.