Kenya on the verge of history after Madagascar win
PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO Kenya centre Ronnie Mwenesi trains at Barclays Bank Sports Club in the past. Mwenesi mauled down a hat trick of tries as the charging Kenya 15s thumped hosts Madagascar 34-0 in the 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifiers on July 2, 2014.
What you need to know:
- Second row Ronnie Mwenesi mauled down a hat trick of tries as the charging Jerome Paarwater-coached side mercilessly hammered the hosts.
- It’s now Zimbabwe, who stand between Kenya and their maiden RWC finals appearance. The two sides clash in what will be the decisive duel on Sunday at 1pm with Namibia taking on Madagascar at 3pm.
Kenya 15s inched closer to making their maiden appearance at the Rugby World Cup after touching down six times to crush hosts Madagascar 34-0 in their second round match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifier at the Mahamasina Stadium in Antananarivo on Wednesday.
Second row Ronnie Mwenesi mauled down a hat trick of tries as the charging Jerome Paarwater-coached side mercilessly hammered the hosts.
Eighth man Joshua Chisanga supplemented Mwenesi’s efforts with a brace of tries as outside centre Humphrey Kayange scored one to confine Madagascar to their second defeat hence locking them out of contention.
The victory saw Kenya inch closer to qualifying for the 2015 RWC finals in the United Kingdom after they impressively stunned Namibia 29-22 in the opening match of the Confederation of Africa Rugby (CAR) Division 1A duel on Saturday.
However, Namibia, who are seeking their fifth qualification to the RWC finals, revived their hopes when they rallied from behind to beat Zimbabwe 24-20 at the same venue on Wednesday. Zimbabwe had on Saturday thumped Madagascar 57-22.
Kenya now tops the CAR Diviaion 1A Championship also known as Africa Cup with 10 points and are followed by Zimbabwe with six points after they claimed a bonus point for not losing with more than seven points against Namibia.
Namibia, who also got a bonus point from their defeat to Kenya, have five points after collecting four from Zimbabwe victory.
ZIMBABWE'S TEST
It’s now Zimbabwe, who stand between Kenya and their maiden RWC finals appearance. The two sides clash in what will be the decisive duel on Sunday at 1pm with Namibia taking on Madagascar at 3pm.
“It now comes down to the last match and I just want my players to keep focus and have their eyes on the prize,” said Kenya 15s coach Jerome Paarwater said after the match.
“We worked on our defence for the last two days since we knew Madagascar will come fast on us. We basically cut them down.”
Paarwater said resting most of the players who featured against Namibia for the Madagascar duel worked well.
“It was just a tactical move since I wanted the players to stay fresh for the last match,” said Paarwater.
