Kenya Simbas fall short against Zimbabwe, World Cup dream shattered

 In a fierce and emotional clash between two long-time rivals, the Simbas started strong but could not maintain their momentum throughout the 80 minutes, especially in the second half.

The match kicked off with Kenya immediately taking control, as Patrick Sabatia soared high to claim Barry Young’s kick, setting up a two-minute spell of possession.

However, a turnover in isolation allowed Zimbabwe to counter quickly. Edward Sigauke broke on the outside before feeding Brandon Mudzekenyedzi, who grounded the ball under pressure for a 5-0 lead.

Kenya replied swiftly. Sabatia once again showed his aerial prowess, retrieving the restart and linking up with Eugine Sifuna. After a powerful maul, Sifuna crashed over to level scores at 5-5.

Zimbabwe pulled ahead after Ian Prior slotted in a penalty, and Kenya were dealt a blow as Griffin Chao was sin-binned for a high tackle. Jone Kubu’s penalty later brought Kenya back to 8-8, but a try from Sables captain Hilton Mudariki saw Zimbabwe lead 13-8.

Kubu punished Zimbabwe’s infringements with another penalty to narrow the gap to 13-11. Just before the break, Chao redeemed himself by capitalising on a dropped ball and racing clear to score, with Kubu converting for an 18-13 halftime lead for Kenya.

The second half, however, belonged largely to Zimbabwe.

Kenya wasted chances from the maul, while the Sables tightened their grip. They scored early through the forwards, and Prior added three penalties, one from a drop goal and two from Kenyan errors, to stretch the lead to 29-18.

In the dying moments, substitute hooker Teddy Akala powered over from a lineout to give Kenya hope, but the final whistle blew immediately after.

Despite flashes of brilliance and dominance in parts of the game, Kenya’s errors and missed opportunities proved costly.

With this loss, the Simbas bow out of the World Cup qualification race, as Zimbabwe advances to the final.

Kenya will now shift its focus to the third-place match against Algeria, which earlier lost 21-7 to Namibia in the first semifinal.