All is not lost for the Kenya national rugby team despite their 36-0 thrashing in the hands of African powerhouse Namibia in the finals of the 2022 Rugby Afrique Cup played at Stade Maurice David in Marseille, France.
Despite the return of pacey winger Collins Injera and Vincent Onyala, the Kenyan side were schooled by Namibia who dominated the match from the start.
However, the Paul Odera tutored side still have one chance of qualifying for the 2023 Rugby Africa scheduled for 2023 in France.
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Namibia and South Africa have already qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The latter made it thanks to their world ranking. The Springboks are currently ranked first in Africa.
According to the organizers, Kenya Simbas will battle it out for a single qualification spot in the Repechage rugby tournament to be played in a few months’ time.
“Four teams from across Africa, Asia/Pacific, the Americas and Europe will contest the Final Qualification Tournament, which is being held for the second Rugby World Cup tournament running in November, 2022,”
“The winner of the round-robin tournament will secure the last remaining ticket for France 2023,” read a statement from Rugby World Cup
The repechage qualification tournament will be staged in Portugal. The hosts and Kenya will know their opponents after the completion of the Asia/Pacific and the Americas qualifiers slated for July 23 and July 16 respectively.
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Kenya came close to making it to the 2019 Rugby World Cup but lost in the Repechage tournament. This year they will try to rectify their past mistakes as the team tries to qualify for their first ever world cup tournament.
Their preparation for the just concluded Rugby Africa Cup was not a desirable one since they faced numerous challenges particularly financial ones. They had to request financial help online after the government informed them that they do not have enough cash to finance their budget.
Some of the teams that have already qualified for the World Cup include hosts France, England, Wales and Argentina. Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan will also feature in the global showpiece.
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