Ugandan Malcolm Okello Daniel will leave the city of Nairobi a proud man. Not only did he captain his nation at the 2022 Barthes Rugby Africa U20 Trophy, but he also won the top points scorer award.
Okello had an undisputed 42 points in three games, playing flyhalf in the first two and fullback in the last.
Against Kenya in the first match, he scored a try and kicked 2 penalties and 2 conversions with an accuracy of 66.67%. This accounted for 15 of the 20 points Uganda scored in that quarter-final loss.
Okello then turned his guns on Ivory Coast in the semi-finals of the classification. He scored 21 points – all shots on goal with 71.43% accuracy – of Uganda’s 26 points in that hard-fought win which sent Uganda to the 5/6 ranking final.
In Uganda’s last match against Tunisia, the bar Okello set for himself in the tournament was too high for him. He converted just 2 kicks from 7 kicking opportunities in his range to post 28.57% kick accuracy as Uganda lost, 24-11, to finish sixth square.
However, it was more than enough for Okello to clinch the award which was presented by Janick Barthes, widow of the late World Rugby Services Director for Africa, Jean-Luc Barthes, in whose honor the tournament was held. was appointed in 2016.
The top five in this category were completed by Zambian Anderson Mwila Mulenga (24), Namibian duo Oela Blaauw (22) and Geraldo Beukes (19), and Zimbabwean Takudzwa Musingwini (17).
At three tries apiece, the list of top scorers was a three-way tie between eighth Zimbabwean league winner Tanaka Gondo Mukandapi, Geraldo Beukes and Madagascar winger Tsiaroniaina Michel Rakotoarijaona.
