Chipu under pressure? No, says tactician
Kenya’s Chipu head coach Curtis Olago says the U-20 Barthes trophy defending champions are not under any pressure as they head to the Cup semi-final tomorrow against the former champs Namibia.
“Thanks to my boys for placing their bodies on the line for the win. Although we did not achieve what we wanted in terms of gameplay, we believe we are capable of sailing through to the Cup finals against Namibia. It’s going to be tough but we are up to it,” Olago told People Sports.
Kenya emerged 54-20 victorious in the Migingo derby against Uganda to qualify for the semifinals. The hosts will now face Namibia who drubbed 62-0 against Cote d’Ivoire.
Namibia missed out on the previous edition and their return signalled rivalry renewal. The two will this Wednesday at the same venue offer rugby enthusiasts the moment of truth between the only two nations to lay their hands on the seven-year-old competition that did not take place in 2020.
Kenya, under the tutelage of now the head coach of Kenya Simbas national team- coach Paul Odera - dethroned two-time champions Namibia in 2019 at the KCB Sports club with a 21-18 whip. The title was defended by Chipu in 2021 after beating Madagascar 21-20 through coincidently three tries and two penalties as was the case with Namibia in the previous edition.
On Saturday, Kenya had a rusty opener half to go to the break with a closely contested 11-10 lead against Uganda U20. Their opponent’s fatigue levels brought in the difference and the hosts scored 43 points in the returning half which was the highest points to be scored at the quarterfinals stage.
Uganda head coach Richard Lumu said the final score was not their expected result but promised to pick up from the nervy first half they had against Kenya.
Surprise Kenya
“This is not the results we expected because we were strong in the first half and we were headed to surprise Kenya. However, they were the better team of the day and they were lucky. If we had more time to prepare for this competition, I believed it would have been a different game because we would have done well. We will pick it up from the first half we had against them when we meet our next opponent,” Lumu said.
