Simbas coach Odera to use SA outing as preps for World Cup qualifiers

Kenya Rugby 15s head coach Paul Odera says they will use the ongoing South Africa outing to prepare for the 2022 Rugby Africa Cup which will double up as the 2023 World Cup qualifiers.

Speaking at the Loftus Versfeld ground in Pretoria, South Africa, Odera said their main focus is the World Cup qualifiers scheduled for next year in France.

“The goal is really to qualify for France in 2023, and next year when we get to France for the qualifiers we will be three games away from that,” said Odera.

“We have quarterfinals against Uganda and when we get through that then we’ll have a semi final against possibly Senegal or Algeria and then get to the finals, so all our games this week are aimed at getting us to France,” he added.  

Simbas started their tour on the wrong footing losing 85-12 against South Africa Carling champions, and according to Odera they have picked massive lessons from their opponents.

“It was one of the best learning experiences we have had for a long time as Kenya, because the pace, accuracy and the tactical awareness of the team we were playing was really challenging for us, so those are good lessons that we’ll be taking to our second match,” explained Odera.

He now says they will shift their focus to the next two upcoming games against Namibia and Zimbabwe in the classification matches.

“The next two matches are crucial because these are ranking matches and they’ll allow us to compare ourselves against two of the top sides in Africa,” said Odera.

“Particularly the game against Namibia we haven’t played them since 2019, so this will be an excellent opportunity for us to measure ourselves against quality and position,” Odera concluded.