Namibia Rugby Union confirmed its withdrawal from the 2021 edition of Africa U20 Barthes Cup championship which was to be staged from June 24 to July 4 in Nairobi, Kenya due to Covid 19.
Namibia Rugby Union president Corrie Mensah issued a statement on Friday following meetings with the minister of sport Agnes Tjongarero, after the Namibian government's recent ban on contact sport due to rise in Covid 19 cases.
“The NRU regretfully had to notify Rugby Africa that we, under the prevailing conditions, unfortunately have to withdraw our under 20 teams from the Barthes Trophy competition. It is logical for the mere reason that the team will not be able to train and prepare properly,” the Namibian Rugby Union said.
At the same time, the senior men African champions also requested Rugby Africa to postpone the Africa Gold Cup Group A tournament that it's supposed to host at the beginning of July, to November.
"It was requested from us in a letter received from Coralie van den Berg, general manager Rugby Africa that should the tournament be kept in Windhoek 'there is a guarantee that the ban will be lifted on 1 July."
Namibia was set to play Senegal, Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast in pool B of the Barthes Cup and was set to be held back in 2020 but postponed due to Covid-19 and related health concerns.
The withdrawal of the Namibia Rugby Union will mean that the junior continental showpiece will have to be restructured in a manner that would create equal competition for both teams in the two pools.