Kenya coach sweats over player fitness ahead of Cup final
What you need to know:
- The final will be played at KCB Sports Club in Nairobi.
Kenya’s head coach, Paul Odera, is hopeful his key players Dominic Coulson and Jeff Mutuku will recover in time for Sunday’s final of Africa Under-20 tournament against champions Namibia.
The final will be played at KCB Sports Club in Nairobi. An unattached Coulson put up a man-of-the-match performance in Kenya’s 73-0 demolition of Tunisia in the semi-finals of the Pool ‘A’ tournament on Thursday, making nine successful conversions out of the 11 tries the hosts scored and suffered a thigh injury.
Mutuku, who is the most experienced Kenyan player in the tournament, having played for the team since the 2016 edition, missed the match with a hamstring injury.
“Coulson played very well against Tunisia. He got a thigh injury but his injury is not that bad. Mutuku suffered a hamstring injury at his club (Kenya Harlequin) in March. It will be a big blow for us if they miss the match because they are very important players for us. They will be assessed later today, but they should be ready to face Namibia,” Odera said on Friday.
The team rested yesterday after that big victory. “The boys had some team-building exercises at the Karen Waterfront, including swimming. We will again watch videos of our matches later today in our team camp,” Odera added.
Odera believes it is Kenya’s chance to win the tournament, dubbed ‘Barthes Trophy,’ to guarantee his team a chance of competing in 2019 Junior World Rugby Trophy.
Odera has acknowledged that Namibia is a strong team with experienced and speedy players, but Odera insists his players will take their chances.
“They (Namibia) don’t look as good as they were when they beat us (66-24) in Madagascar two years ago.”
Namibia’s drop in form and Kenya’s home advantage has given Odera more hope of winning the tournament on home soil.
