Namibia are CAR U19 champions
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:31
Namibia held on to their title as the Confederation of African Rugby's Under-19 champions and so qualified again to take part in the International Rugby Board's World Rugby Trophy.
They were at the inaugural tournament in Chile this year when they ended fifth.
To win the title again the Namibians beat Zimbabwe 16-13 in the final when two penalties leapfrogged them over the 2006 champions.
The tournament took place in Tunisia.
Zimbabwe scored two tries to one but it was the boot that brought home the bacon for the young Biltongboere.
In the first half Rangarirayi Zembe's try to Alock Lezhanne's penalty gave the Young Sables a 5-3 lead.
In the second half Lezhanne kicked another penalty, Prinsloo Mahco added a drop goal and Ashley Tchombe scored his side's only try which Lezhanne converted. Back came Zimbabwe with a try by Kyle Jarvis and a penalty goal by Raymond de Jong.
The final was a repeat of last year's - same finalists, same winners and same winning margin. In 2007 the score was 23-20.
Hosts Tunisia finished third with a comfortable 23-0 win over North African neighbours Morocco, while Kenya rallied from 10-0 down to beat Côte d'Ivoire 17-15 to finish fifth.
Madagascar and Uganda were forced to withdraw shortly before the tournament began.
The six teams were divided into two, equal-strength pools:
Pool A: Namibia, Morocco, Kenya
Pool B: Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire.
Pool; Results
Morocco vs Kenya, 21-18
Zimbabwe vs Tunisia, 18-11
Namibia vs Morocco, 15-5
Tunisia vs Côte d'Ivoire, 15-9
Zimbabwe vs Côte d'Ivoire, 21-0
Namibia vs Kenya, 26-19
Final Round
5th/6th: Kenya vs Côte d'Ivoire, 17-15
3rd/4th: Tunisia vs Morocco, 23-0
Final: Namibia vs Zimbabwe,
16-13
Final rankings
1 Namibia
2 Zimbabwe
3 Tunisia
4 Morocco
5 Kenya
6 Côte d'Ivoire
