Simbas turns attention to Victoria after Elgon Cup heroics

Kenya Rugby 15s, the Simbas, will now turn their focus to the Victoria Cup after beating Uganda 16-5 in Kampala, Uganda at the weekend to retain the Elgon Cup.

The Simbas lost the first leg 16-13 to Uganda in Kisumu in June and later won 16-5 in Kampala to see them retain the maiden on 29-21 aggregate.

Odundo added that they didn’t make a lot of changes for the team after losing six players to the U 20 World Trophy in Brazil and four other players who went to training in South Africa.

“There were quite some changes in the squad but the secret thing was the effort from the players, their efficiency and we also made fewer errors than we made in the first leg.”

He also applauded the effort of experienced player Andrew Amonde and KCB skipper Jacob Ojee who was the man-of-the-match scoring 11 points out of the 16 scored in that match.

“The inclusion of Amonde and Ojee played a big role because they are some of our experienced players who have both played for the sevens and fifteens teams for many years so they helped stabilize the forwards and the backs.”

Regardless of picking up 1.2 points from that win, Simba remain in 32nd place in the World Rugby rankings but with less than a point now between them and the side immediately above them, Korea and according to Odundo playing stronger opponents will help them improve their rankings.

And speaking upon their arrival in Nairobi from Uganda last night, Director of Rugby at Kenya Rugby Union Thomas Odundo said they’ll issue a comprehensive statement on the upcoming Victoria Cup.

“We’re still not too sure if we’ll participate in the Victoria Cup as planned but we shall wait for the directions from the executive and then know the way forward from there,” he said.

The revival of Victoria Cup comes after a confirmation of the cancelation of the Rugby Africa Gold Cup this year due to lack of sponsorship.

Paul Odera charges are scheduled to face Zimbabwe this Saturday at the Harare Sports Club. Other teams in the Victoria Cup include Uganda and Zambia.

Tags:

uganda Kampala Simbas Victoria Cup Elgon Cup Kenya Rugby 15s

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