Africa-Press – Kenya. Defensive alignment and attack will be top of the list this week as Kenya Simbas intensify preparations for the Qudrangualar semi-final match against powerhouses Namibia on Saturday.
Paul Odera’s charges began their South African tour on a losing note, going down 85-17 to a Currie Cup select side in Pretoria on Saturday, and Odera said they will use the forthcoming days to rectify the shortcomings witnessed in the defeat.
“We were defensively exposed by the decoy runners resulting in several tries and so this is an area we must work on before we face Namibia,” said Odera.
Odera said the Currie Cup side punished errors by the Simbas throughout the match.
“The pace, accuracy and intensity our opponents showed was on another level and feasted on our errors to score points,” he said.
“Yes we scored three tries but I believe we could have scored more by having depth in attack, keeping the ball longer and changing the point of attack.”
Odera thanked South African Rugby Union for the invite.
“This high-intensity level is what will prepare the players properly for the Rugby World Cup qualifiers next year,” said Odera
The former international was however satisfied with the effort the boys put in despite the heavy defeat.
“There was immense improvement in the team’s mental and physical strength. You could see their fighting spirit until the final whistle,” he said.
He said the only way the team will improve on their performance is if they consistently have matches at this level.
The Simbas were on the back foot from the kickoff, conceding three tries in the opening 10 minutes against the well-oiled Currie Currie Cup side which features the top provincial sides from South Africa.
Reniel Hugo and Keagan Johannes scored two tries each with Arno Both, Aranos Coetzee, Stedman Gans, Phumzile Maqondwana, Nama Xaba, Chris Smith, Schalk Erasmus scored a try each for the hosts who led 45-10 at the interval. The hosts added ten conversions to close out the match
Kenya’s tries were scored by Thomas Okeyo, Jone Kubu and Brian Tanga with Kubu converting once.
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