NAIROBI, Kenya, June 21 – Kenya 15s head coach Paul Odera has urged his charges to treat every game of the 2023 Africa Rugby World Cup Qualifier as a final as the Simbas plot preying on Uganda in the quarter-final slated for July 2 in France.
Kenya, ranked 35th in the world seems to have an easy path to the final on paper, where if they overcome 52nd ranked neighbors Uganda, either Algeria ranked 90th or Senegal who are ranked 45th awaits in the semi-final, but Odera told Capital Sport they intend to take a game at a time.
The other path is a tough one where Africa defending champions Namibia (ranked 24th) faces Burkina Faso (ranked 91st) in the other quarter-final with the winner booking a date with either Zimbabwe (ranked 34th) or Ivory Coast (ranked 42nd) in the semi-final.
“We do not have an easy path to the final, it’s up to us to navigate this path, our final is against Uganda, that is how we are approaching this qualifier because if we don’t beat them then we are out and when Uganda plays Kenya they bring everything out, whether they have talented players or not so we are very clear that, that Uganda game is our final, we would rather leave that game with half the team injured,” Odera said.
“We are not getting ahead of ourselves, we are taking one game at a time, this year the team is coming together we have had a good two months to prepare, we have played high quality matches we have managed to rotate the players, but the structure and system has remained the same which has always been a challenge for the Simbas.”
With Odera’s main agenda in his manifesto after being appointed the head coach on May 30, 2019, being to qualify Kenya to its first ever World Cup, the former Chipu tactician has already restored hopes to fans after guiding the team in Currie Cup First Division where they finished 8th on the 10-team log, winning three games.
Two of the games were played in Kenya for the first time and Odera boys did not disappoint the fans, clawing Leopards 51-35 before staging an amazing 17-0 comeback to beat Eastern Province Elephants 41-24.
Odera has appreciated the three-month high-level preparations the team has had playing in South Africa, singling out the Elephants game, that he told his players to take that fighting mentality to the World Cup Qualifiers.
“I am happy that the fans faith has been restored in the Simbas because the players play for them, it’s not a guarantee, but this time we have a good chance to qualify,” Odera underscored. We played well in the two Currie Cup matches that we hosted, especially against the Elephants, coming 17-0 down and win, that is the kind of mentality we want to carry on to France,” Odera pointed out.
The coach has a deep squad that is a blend of youth and experience, with former Kenya 7s star Collins Injera featuring in the game against the Elephants where he proved his critics wrong.
“Collo (Collins Injera) and I had a conversation early in the year, I asked him, if he can contribute to Kenya making it to the World Cup, he thought about it and said he will give it a try, so he has been training with us since February, the only reason he did not come to South Africa is because of work commitments and the only reason he did not play against the Leopards is because of family reasons, so he has been in the system all through and he is a fantastic player so why leave such a talent out,” Odera commented on Injera.
-Owila comeback-
Returning to the national team set-up for the first time since 2019, forward Martin Owillah is confident the team has what it takes to write history in Kenya by qualifying for the World Cup, since they have had an ample preparation compared to 2014.
Owillah, who features for KCB RFC, joined the team late over family commitment, is one of the players who featured in the 2014 World Cup Qualifier, where Kenya lost 27-10 to Zimbabwe in the round-robin format.
“We are getting to the high point with the 15s thanks to our coach Paul (Odera), given the good preparations we have had, we are not just thinking of qualifying for the World Cup, we are thinking of sustainable movement,” Owillah told Capital Sport.
“We are taking each game with a lot of seriousness, we know against Uganda is not an easy match, they are our neighbors and it’s a derby, but we are taking each game at a time and our focus now is against Uganda,” the 8th man added.
“The young kids that have come on board are brilliant, they have the composure, their passing is good, and they are managing the game, and if the momentum will be sustained it will take us far. This time we are not making promises, we have done our preparations and the team is in high spirits.”
The team resumed training Monday this week (June 20, 2022) with coach Odera set to name his final travelling of 28 players.
-Funds appeal-
Meanwhile, the Kenya Simbas is appealing for funds from well-wishers and corporates to raise Ksh10 million that will boost their preparations.
“I appeal to Kenyans to help us with our crowd funding initiative that Dicky Evans has launched, we need 10 million shillings because we spent all our money in South Africa and if we do not train from this weekend all the way until we play Uganda, its going to be difficult, I request this, the Simbas, the boys do need you,” Odera pleaded.
Owillah echoed his coach sentiments; “We seek more of your help especially sponsors we need to qualify for the World Cup and we are going to qualify, whatever investment you are bringing board it will not be in vain, it will not be in waste because we are giving all our best and they are ready.”
