Simbas coach Odera hails team spirit after famous win over Algeria
Kenya fifteens,Simbas, Head Coach Paul Odera has paid tribute to his charges after Wednesday’s 36-33 victory over Algeria in the semi final of the Rugby Africa tournament played at the Stade Delort in Marseille, France on Wednesday 6 July 2022.
Paul Odera’s charges had resisted a late Algerian surge to make a date with either Namibia in the final. The Algerians had twice taken the lead but fullback Darwin Mukidza restored parity on both occasions, converting tries from inside center John Okoth to level the scores at 14-14. Mukidza added to his day’s count when he scored and converted his own try to give the Simbas a 21-14 lead at the interval.
“We struggled a little bit in the set-pieces but credit to them, everytime Algeria came back to us we were able to get ahead. Algeria as expected was going to be a tough opponent, they were always going to put us under pressure,” Odera said after the game.
Making it to the final was not an easy task and the experienced coach did not hide his joy as the country celebrated yet another famous fifteens win on foreign soil.
“Mine is so much joy, first making it to the final. We are one game away from coming back to France next year for the World Cup. This is huge for Kenya, huge for the rugby fraternity and more so for these 28 warriors who have come here to battle and to bring pride to Kenya,” he added.
“We regroup, we recover. Zim (Zimbabwe) or Namibia we will be ready for them,” he concluded.
The Simbas will play either Namibia in Sunday’s final with direct qualification as the African representative to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France at stake. Namibia beat Zimbabwe 34-19 in the other semifinal.
