NAIROBI, April 1 -- Revenge will be in the air as Kenya targets Tunisia's and Namibia's scalps in the Africa Junior Rugby Cup, which will be held in Nairobi from Thursday.
Four teams, including hosts Kenya, champions Namibia, Tunisia and Senegal will do everything in their power to win the three-day tournament, which is called christened Berthes Cup.
The winners will qualify for the 2019 Junior World Rugby Trophy set for Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil from July 9-21.
Kenya's head coach Paul Odera says he will use the home advantage to get one over on Tunisia, who beat Kenya in 2016, and Namibia, who have kept a strong grip on the trophy in the last three tournaments.
"Tunisia have heavy forwards and some dangerous players in the back-line but it is something that we are more than equipped to handle. We are prepared for it, our research has informed our developing and training sessions so that we're able to deal with these teams," Odera said on Monday.
The Kenyan tactician was also buoyant about his team's prospects against champions Namibia, as they target their first win over the southern Africans.
"If we do play Namibia again, I mean last year we pushed them hard but we lost. The score however didn't reflect how close the game was. Hopefully this year, if we can get the players mentally, physically and skillfully ready, perhaps we can be able to finally get a positive result against them at this level," he added.
This year's Barthes Cup takes place in Nairobi from April 4-7. The tournament is Rugby Africa's official U-20 championship. It pits four teams competing for the overall title and with it, qualification to the World Rugby U-20 Trophy.
Namibia have been the perennial winners of this tournament. They come to Nairobi with one thing on their mind: to retain the Barthes Cup and once again represent Africa at the world stage.
Kenya will seek a new beginning having lost the last three finals to Namibia and will look to point to the reducing margins of defeat as a well as a larger talent pool as reasons to believe they can challenge for the title and return to the world junior rugby tournament in 2009.
Tunisia and Senegal will play in Nairobi by virtue of reaching last year's second tier Africa U-20 final, a fixture that saw the North Africans secure a 11-8 win in extra time over their West African opponents.
Little is known of the two sides at the U-20 level but they will certainly be in Nairobi, not to make up the numbers, but to compete and rattle the status quo.
北京新开地铁服务奥运
奥运英语:体操项目对话欣赏
奥运赛场上的妈妈级选手
大陆民航班机56年来首次飞往台湾
北京拟加大奥运期间空气治理力度
今年圣诞不寂寞 “扁平爸爸”相作伴
双语:妈咪摇滚DJ席卷纽约
林赛罗韩感恩节奢侈品店大“血拼”
布莱克莱弗利疯狂购物 狂扫40双鞋
“哈利波特”捞金有术 跻身英国富豪榜
双语美文:感恩节让心中充满感谢
威廉王子婚礼将拍3D电影 与百姓分享
学礼仪 迎奥运
香烟盒大变样 “素颜”包装减少诱惑
印度:个人奥运首金 举国同庆
婚姻新杀手: 美1/5离婚案与Facebook有关
小贝一家健身狂 贝嫂热衷深夜跑步
韩电视台曝光奥运开幕式遭谴责
澳大利亚青年欲破世界最长说唱纪录
威廉王子未婚妻凯特订婚长裙惨遭山寨
奥运篮球运动员将被“随位安保”
英国小学生办婚礼 早熟程度令人咋舌
双语:牙膏会让胎儿大脑受损?
北京奥运闭幕式:贝克汉姆“领衔”伦敦8分钟
朱莉大谈育儿经 感慨“当妈很累”
奥运选手“备战”污染
“黑马”常永祥 中国奥运摔跤“银”突破
20世纪最无聊一天:1954年4月11日
做好奥运东道主——怎么招待外国人
热点英语:自主招生引发的“北约华约”之战
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |