The Kenya U20 rugby team Team Manager Philip Wamae has exuded confidence and optimism that team will be ready to tackle their opponents in Barthes Cup.
The team has had a silent pretournament training and with just two weeks left until the competition begins, concerns have arisen regarding the absence of a comprehensive full-team training or a residential camp.
Furthermore, there are additional concerns regarding the disadvantage faced by players residing outside of Nairobi due to the absence of a residential camp.
These players have only been able to participate in weekend camps, resulting in limited opportunities for training sessions with their teammates.
However in an exclusive interview with The Scrummage Africa, Wamae dismissed the reports and termed them ‘not true’.
He said the technical bench has made the best efforts to ensure that the team is ready for action which commences in 17 days time.
“Preparations have been okay, we have been making sure that we get our sessions amidst the challenges that we are all aware of, so we are trying to make sure that we are well prepared from the squad that we selected,” Wamae remarked.
“We had a camp with players two weeks ago and in between we have tried to manage with the resources that we have to ensure every person in their region is training and we have plans to make sure we have a full combined team session of the players who are currently in the set-up to ensure we get all our system ready and all our clarity in regards on how we want to play and ensure the system is working for us” he added.
EDITOR’S PICKS:
- David Mayabi’s dual dance
- Follow us on Scrummage Africa FB
- The story of Moreen Muritu
- Bethuel Anami’s unforgettable chapters
“Am affirmative, we are currently ticking the boxes to ensure that we will be well prepared by the time the tournament commences,” Wamae concluded.
The previous Kenya U20 squad, which emerged victorious in the Barthes Cup, benefited from several residential camps and engaged in a series of build-up matches against Kenya Cup sides.
Similarly, the squad from last season participated in friendly matches against local clubs as part of their preparation. However, there has been a notable absence of publicized friendly matches for the current season’s squad.
According to a reliable source who preferred to remain anonymous, had revealed to the Scrummage that there has been a lack of proper full-house training sessions conducted by the team. He revealed that last time there was a full house training was four weeks ago.
Kenya will kick off their campaign against Namibia on 20th April.
