Kenya Under-20 coach Paul Odera credited his side's 26-24 win over Brazil in the Junior Rugby World Trophy to mental strength.
Odera side had to fight tooth and nail to get the victory in a topsy-turvy contest that had five lead changes. "Credit to the boys. They showed mental fortitude to come from behind and then Coulson scored from a penalty to give us the victory,” added Odera.
The tactician especially hailed the kicking by flyhalf Dominic Coulson who contributed 16 points for the victory. “He has worked on his kicking for points in training and it paid off,” he added.
Odera said there is room for improvement in the side ahead of the tough fixture against favourites. "We have improved some facets of play in the lineout and scrummaging. We were good against Brazil and our execution in the attack was superb. However, our defensive alignment must get better in our final pool game against Japan on Wednesday,” Odera warned.
Captain Boniface Ochieng said they will be competitive in the next match against Japan. "We are improving and we will enjoy this win. However, from tomorrow, our focus switches to Japan which will be a tough test although we are relishing the challenge of competing against them,” he added.
The hosts jumped into a 10-0 courtesy of two quick tries by Rafael Dos Santos and Leonardo De Souza. Chipu then regrouped with a Brian Amaitsa try with Couslon converting to trail 10-7. Coulson brought Kenya level with a penalty before drilling another penalty for a 13-10 lead before the interval.
On resumption, winger Geoffrey Okwatch crossed the whitewash with Coulson adding the extras for a 20-10 lead. The hosts came roaring back with Perrreira Proenca and Henrique Ferreira scoring a try each and Lucas Spago converting both tries to give the hosts 24-23 lead with seconds remaining. Coulson then showed nerves of steel scoring a last-minute penalty to give Kenya victory.
