Africa-Press – Kenya. With the chance of a maiden Rugby World Cup appearance in France in 2023 beckoning, Kenya Simbas will be the centre of attention in 2022.
The Simbas have come close before to the holy grail of world rugby, in 2014 in Madagascar, but fell agonisingly short at the last hurdle, losing 27-10 to Zimbabwe after beating perennial campaigners Namibia 28-20 during the qualifiers.
Simbas’ hopes of qualification for the last edition of the World Cup in 2019 came a cropper in 2018 after finishing second to Namibia in the Africa qualifiers, where they headed to the repechage in France.
There, they lost to eventual champions Canada 65-19 , Hong Kong 42-17 and Germany 43-6 to see their qualification hopes to the World Cup go up in smoke.
Kenya face neighbours Uganda with the winner facing Senegal or Algeria in the semis. The other side of the draw sees powerhouses Namibia face Burkina Faso as Zimbabwe take on Ivory Coast.
The task is on Paul Odera and his charges to make history and send Kenya to the World Cup where they will be in a tough Pool ‘A’ against three-time world champions New Zealand, hosts France and Italy, alongside a representative from Europe.
Odera believes his squad have what it takes to advance to rugby’s biggest extravaganza and be counted alongside the top 20 teams in the world.
“Our target is to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Our preparations have been to detail and we are confident enough we will qualify for the big prize,” he says.
Mixed year
His charges had a mixed 2021, starting their journey to France with a 20-19 loss to minnows Senegal at Nyayo Stadium before bouncing back to beat Zambia 45-8 to keep their hopes alive by qualifying for the final round of qualifiers slated for France next year.
Lady luck smiled on the Simbas after an invitation from South Africa Rugby Union(SARU) to play in a Quadrangular tournament in Stellenbosch.
They finished third after beating Brazil 36-30 and a 60-24 loss to Namibia.
The Simbas also lost 85-17 to a Currie Cup Select side before they finished the tour with a 59-6 win against Spanish outfit Diablos Barcelona.
Odera has likened the World Cup qualifiers to a KCSE student sitting the national examination.
“In Kenya, we like using the school examination as preparations. A Form Four student has to go through the pre-mock, mock and the final exam. We are in the same situation. We can’t start reading for the national exam with a month to go. We need to be conscious of good preparations to be ready for the final exam,” Odera explains.
To that effect, Odera wants the team to keep up the momentum from the just concluded South African tour by having training camps from January to keep the players fresh and motivated for the task at hand.
“We need monthly training camps to upskill the players and maintain the standards we saw in South Africa,” he adds.
Urgent concerns
The tactician has cited four areas to focus on before the blockbuster game against Uganda in France next year.
They include conditioning, tactical kicking, setpiece and defence.
“If you watched our game against Namibia, our intensity dipped in the second half and they took advantage. Our strength and conditioning level has to be better by the start of the qualifiers,” the former Kenya under-20 coach says.
Odera adds that the side needs to improve their tactical kicking, which includes the box kick and kicking for territory as well as the kick chase.
“It is one big facet of play we struggled with in South African tour but with time on our side, we can adjust and improve. Our setpiece, which includes the line-out and scrum, is operating at 70 per cent but it should be at 95 per cent come the qualifiers. We need to be secure in our ball and see if we can disrupt the opposition’s ball, ” the former Strathmore Leos coach says.
Mixed Sevens
Elsewhere, it was a mixed year for Kenya Sevens who had an underwhelming performance at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing ninth.
Innocent Simiyu’s charges lost 19-14 to the USA, 14-5 to South Africa and 12-7 to Ireland.
They, however, redeemed themselves in the classifications matches by beating Japan 21-7 and earning a measure of revenge by beating Ireland 22-7.
Shujaa bounced back at the Vancouver and Edmonton Sevens in September. They made light work of Spain, winning 17-5, beat Mexico 45-7 but lost 33-14 to South Africa.
In the last eight, Shujaa defeated USA 19-14 and then thrashed Ireland 38-5 before falling 38-5 to South Africa in the final.
A week later in Edmonton, Shujaa walloped Chile 38-5, Spain 26-12 and lost 19-14 to the USA. In the quarters, they edged Germany 24-17 before falling 33-7 to South Africa in the semis.
They started their World Sevens Series in Dubai with quarterfinal finishes, winning three matches out of 12 in the two events.
Shujaa beat Spain and Canada by similar margins of 26-12 and USA 29-0 but lost to Argentina 22-17, South Africa 31-19, Ireland 29-7 Great Britain 33-5 and 10-5 and Australia 21-14.
Simiyu says consistency will be key with the circuit returning to a traditional 16 team format in the new year, starting in Malaga and Seville in January.
“We have room for improvement and at the same time, we have to balance our attack and defence,” Simiyu says.
Kenya are currently ranked eighth on the log with 22 points.
Hope for Lionesses
Kenya Lionesses missed out on the Rugby World Cup after losing to Colombia 16-15 at Nyayo Stadium in a playoff match.
A win would have sent Kenya to the repechage next year and earn them a shot at qualification for the 2022 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The good news for women’s rugby, however, was the start of the Kenya Cup league, which will aid their hopes of qualification for the World Cup in 2025 and future participation in the World Sevens Series.
Head coach Felix Oloo terms the introduction of the league as long overdue.
“Finally, we have a competition where we can assess the girls week in, week out. It creates an opportunity for the girls to play for the national team as well have depth in the women’s game, something which has been lacking for the last couple of years. It also gives us a platform to build on for the future,” Oloo says.
On the club scene, KCB equalled Nondies’ achievement of four consecutive Kenya Cup titles after edging Kabras 28-25 in a come-from-behind victory at Nandi Bears Club.
The sugar millers looked home and dry, leading 20-0 at halftime and 25-8 with 11 minutes to go but the bankers staged the greatest-ever comeback in Kenya Cup history to win a seventh league title.
Head coach Curtis Olago termed the win as the sweetest of his five Kenya Cup triumphs.
“This has to be the best of the lot. The boys showed mentality, drive and passion. We have strong characters in this squad and a solid leadership group,” Olago said.
Honourable mentions go out to fast-rising Menengai Oilers and Strathmore Leos after strong runs to the Kenya Cup semifinals, both losing out to eventual finalists Kabras and KCB.
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