The 2025 Barthes Trophy kicked off on Saturday, 19 April, in Harare, bringing together the continent’s best under-20 rugby sides. Zimbabwe’s Junior Sables opened their campaign against a determined Namibian side looking to avenge last year’s heated encounter. From the opening whistle, the Junior Sables struggled to settle into the game, making handling errors and displaying disjointed play that handed early momentum to their opponents.
Despite their rough start, Zimbabwe struck first through a powerful driving maul in the 8th minute, briefly giving the home fans hope. However, Namibia quickly regained control, dominating possession and using their physicality to push the Sables back. In the 25th minute, Namibia crossed over after a sustained attack, taking the lead 8-5. Just four minutes later, another Sables error allowed Namibia to extend their advantage to 15-5. Their third try came from a maul in the 34th minute, and with a 20-5 lead, the visitors were firmly in control. Disaster struck again for Zimbabwe just before half-time when a poor decision to run the ball out of their try area resulted in a Namibian interception and try, making it 27-5 at the break.
In the second half, the Junior Sables showed impressive resilience and fighting spirit. Tafara Dewa powered over in the 44th minute, and five minutes later, Tadiwa Maradze added another try from a well-executed scrum move, cutting the deficit to 27-15. With Tino Chinyadza dictating play at flyhalf, the hosts began to build momentum and took advantage of a turnover at the ruck to score a fourth try around the hour mark, capping off a strong comeback effort.
Unfortunately, Namibia’s set-piece superiority showed again in the 71st minute when they scored off a scrum and a final in the 74th minute to seal the match 41-22. The Junior Sables’ second-half performance was spirited, but the early damage proved too much to overcome. With only one team progressing to the Junior World Trophy, Zimbabwe now faces an uphill task in the remainder of the tournament. In the day’s other fixture, defending champions Kenya Chipu edged Tunisia 29-21 in another thrilling contest.
