Africa-Press – Kenya. Homeboyz RFC props Joseph Amalemba and Thomas Okidia have given head coach Simon Odongo a timely boost after returning to training.
The duo has struggled with injuries and their return is a huge boost, coming after the Deejays lost their first three Kenya Cup fixtures.
HomeBoyz lost to champions KCB (18-10), Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology 24-15, and Blak Blad 28-0 to sit eighth on the with a mere point.
The duo is expected to shore up the scrum ahead of their tough tie against high-flying Quins on Saturday at the RFUEA grounds and 15’s head coach Simon Odongo is upbeat about their return.
“The 15’s rugby is all about the setpiece and the scrum. We have looked shaky in that department but with their return, I believe we can get parity,” said Odongo.
He attributed the poor start to the season to a massive exodus of players with the likes of Bob Muhati, Emmanuel Silungi, Stanley Isogol and Alvin Otieno departing and leaving a young team to challenge for honours this season.
“We have lost a good number of players and the team we have is relatively young but they are learning very fast. I am confident we can turn around things as the season goes along, and be competitive,” added Odongo.
The former player has implored his young charges to execute better in attack for the remainder of the season if they harbour any chances of making it to the playoffs.
“I must say our defensive alignment is good but our attack needs work. If you watched our game against Blak Blad, we had several opportunities which we did not utilise in their 22 and ended up not scoring,” he said.
The tactician said their depth will be tested this season with the likes of Jeff Oluoch and Bush Mwale serving in the Kenya Sevens set up for the World Sevens Series.
“We will use them sparingly this season. They can only play two to three games in a season and therefore, our depth in certain positions will be tested.”
Following the Christmas and New year break, the Deejays have fixtures against Nakuru, Menengai Oilers, Mwamba and Strathmore to close out their January matches.
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