Kenya Under-20 rugby head coach Simon Jawichre will rely on Kenya Sevens youngster Jackson Siketa and Faran Juma when Chipu open their Barthes Cup campaign against Zimbabwe on Friday in Kampala, Uganda.
The squad completed three training camps and will depart for the week-long championship on Wednesday. Jawichre said Siketa and Juma are expected to play vital roles against top-tier opposition.
“They played last year in Zimbabwe and have been active for their club sides in the 15s and the ongoing Sevens circuit,” Jawichre observed. “A good number of our forwards are also returning and that experience will be key. We will take one match at a time. Zimbabwe is a solid side that plays a style similar to ours. We have studied their video footage and we hope we can match them.”
However, the Catholic Monks tactician is frustrated due to late preparations compared to rivals like Zimbabwe and Namibia, both of whom trained in South Africa for two months.
“We started our preparations late. Ideally, we should have started in May, but financial constraints delayed us,” Jawichre noted. “Despite that, we have focused on tactical adjustments and mastering the basics.”
The team’s preparation began with a regional camp at Nakuru Athletic Club a fortnight ago for players from Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza. That was followed by two camps at the RFUEA Ground in Nairobi, which concluded over the weekend.
Jawichre said the technical bench focused heavily on set-pieces, scrums, lineouts, defensive alignment and attacking structure.
“Yes, the camps were short and it was a crash programme, but the boys have worked hard and are relishing the battle. We are up to the task of representing the country well and being competitive,” he said.
The junior national team, popularly known as Chipu, won the Barthes Cup in 2024 by defeating hosts Zimbabwe 28-13 in the final in Harare to qualify for the World Rugby U20 Trophy in Scotland. That championship run included a 34-28 victory over Namibia to finish unbeaten.
In the 2025 edition, Kenya finished second after beating Tunisia 29-21 and Zimbabwe 21-20, before falling 32-22 to eventual champions Namibia.
