Africa-Press – Kenya. The Kenya Under-20 side will confront United States International University (USIU) on Saturday as they intensify preparations for the Junior World Rugby Tournament (JWRT) next month at Nyayo Stadium.
Team manager Peter Mutai said the squad will be whittled down to 28 players after the match ahead of the championship which kicks off on July 15.
“This is a trial match. There are certain positions that have been filled but there are others we are trying to see which of the players will raise their hands and get into the squad,” added Mutai.
Mutai said they would have loved to play against a top side but several local top teams are preparing for the start of the Sevens Series.
“It’s difficult to play the strong sides because they are currently committed to Sevens Series. However, I believe USIU will give us a stern test in all facets of play,” said Mutai.
The former KCB and Kenya Simbas international said competition for places in the squad is high after four weeks of intense training at KCB Sports Club
“ This is a big tournament for the players. It’s a milestone in their career so all the players are training and giving it their best shot to represent the country,” he noted.
He added that he is impressed with the conditioning and defence patterns of the team in recent training sessions.
“If you look back at the Barthes Cup, our defence and one-on-one tackling, especially, against Zimbabwe in the final was poor. We have worked on that in training and we have beefed up the boys as far as conditioning is concerned and they are looking fitter and stronger ahead of the event,” he said.
Mutai said they plan to go into a residential camp in the first week of July. “We have already submitted a budget to Kenya Rugby Union and we hope by the end of this week or next week, it will be approved,” he revealed.
Chipu, as the team is known, will open their campaign against Samoa on July 15 and then face Spain on July 20. They conclude the preliminaries against Hong Kong, China on July 25.
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