Lessons for Kenya Simbas from loss to Germany

Kenya’s road to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan may have started with a stumble but that may prove to be a blessing in disguise if tough questions are asked.

Simbas lost 30-29 to Germany with the last play of the game, ending coach Jerome Paarwater's long-winning streak at the RFUEA grounds on May 27.

A number of senior players were dropped by the technical bench before the start of the season. The bench stated that they were not up to scratch, but word went round that they had being pushed aside for being too vocal about players’ welfare. What is the truth? Can a middle ground be found?

Of what value was the 10-day tour of South Africa? Can a team really get good value from just a 10-day camp? There are also reports that a trip to New Zealand is in the pipeline. The ‘bench-marking’ tours are great on paper but their impact on the team is the question.

The list of sponsors for the Test Series was quite impressive and every five minutes during the match, the announcer earned his pay with a mention of the long list of sponsors.

The coffers are presumably quite full and it follows that within reason anything the Kenya 15s team and the technical bench need should be availed. Is that the case? Why are the 15s players not on contract like their sevens counterparts?

Kenya came close to qualifying for the 2015 World Cup but fell short on aggregate to Namibia. This time round, does the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) have a coherent concrete plan to see the team bag the ticket to Japan in 2019?

For starters, a decision has to be made on whether to continue with the players who have worked hard to lift Kenya up in the rankings or inject new blood into the side.

However, KRU is not the only one that has to step up if Kenya is to play in Japan.

The Simbas had beaten Spain and Portugal with ease in Test matches last year and the Germans, who were two slots below in the world rugby rankings, were expected to be easy prey.

However, from the onset, the Germans seemed to be on the ascendancy with compact defensive play, brilliant forward work at scrum, mauls and lineouts as well as explosive bursts of speed when they spotted a gap. They certainly were the better team overall throughout the match and deserved the win.

For Kenya, the forwards were lethargic and were totally outplayed. As for the backs, they were sucked into the contact play and Kenya seemingly lacks a playmaker to switch up the game or to split a defence.

It felt over and over like the same play. Either trying to penetrate through the middle, but when that was stopped by the resolute Germans, we opted to use Jacob Ojee or Darwin Mukidza to run on the line. It worked twice but it certainly wasn’t enough as the one point loss showed.

The bad news is that Simbas are seemingly not yet World Cup material. The good news is with the bubble burst so early in the season, Kenya can now work at being ready to try qualify for Japan. A silver lining to the loss witnessed by one of the largest crowds RFUEA grounds has hosted.

For Kenya Simbas, next up is the Elgon Cup first leg away to Uganda on June 10, with the return leg signalling the start of the 2017 Africa Cup that has been expanded to six teams. Senegal and Tunisia join Namibia, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya.