Simbas head coach Paul Odera has made late changes to his squad ahead of the team's final match at the RWC 2023 Final Qualification Tournament.
Simbas will be taking on Hong Kong on Friday, November 18 at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai after losing their two matches against USA and Portugal.
Brian Juma has been included in the starting 15 after being cleared by an independent judicial committee.
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Juma had been sent off during Simbas’ 85-0 defeat to Portugal during a fixture on Saturday, November 12.
Timothy Omela replaced Peter Kilonzo who suffered an injury while training.
“Clinton Odhiambo, initially named in the second row, drops to the bench while Thomas Okeyo has been rested and does not feature in the match day squad,” part of Kenya Rugby Union read.
In his statement, Odera noted that he had a difficult time picking the squad after the huge defeat to Portugal.
Odera has noted that the coaching team has talked to the players about finishing the tournament with a win.
“Obviously it will be historical if we can get a win because no African team has won a game at the repechage in the past.
“It’s going to be an interesting match for us, let’s hope that the players can dig deep and look for that pride that we expect,” Odera noted.
The loss to Portugal knocked the Kenyan men's 15s national team from the 2023 Rugby World Cup tournament in France.
Simbas Squad
15.Darwin Mukidza, 14. Jacob Ojee, 13. Bryceson Adaka, 12. John Okoth, 11. Brian Tanga, 10. Geoffrey Ominde, 9. Samuel Asati, 1. Patrick Ouko, 2. Eugene Sifuna, 3. Ephraim Oduor, 4. Malcolm Onsando (captain), 5. Brian Juma, 6. George Nyambua, 7. Martin Owilah, 8. Bethuel Anami REPLACEMENTS 16. Brian Waraba (potential debut), 17. Andrew Siminyu, 18. Joseph Odero, 19. Clinton Odhiambo, 20. Joshua Weru, 21. Samson Onsomu, 22. Timothy Omela, 23. Geoffrey Okwach
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