Simbas head coach Paul Odera is contemplating including Kenya Sevens stars Johnstone Olindi and Daniel Taabu in the squad ahead of next year's Africa Gold Cup fixtures.
Odera believes the two will add value to the Simbas, owing to their exploits in the shorter version as well as the game management in 15s rugby. The tactician said they have held discussions with Shujaa technical bench on the availability of the duo for next season.
“It's an experiment we did this year's with the likes of Vincent Onyala, Geoff Okwach and Monate Akuei and it worked. With good planning and sufficient recovery period from the sevens season, It can work,” noted Odera.
He said the goal for next season is to wrestle the Africa Cup crown from Namibia.
“This year, we did quite well, finishing second to Zimbabwe in the Victoria Cup despite starting our preparations late. But credit to the boys who put in the hard work in training and a new structure we tried to instil in the team,” he said.
The tactician said he expects to meet Kenya Cup coaches next month to interact and share ideas on certain facets of the game and to plan for next year's international campaign. “ I'm meeting Kenya Cup coaches to tell them what we are looking for in national team squads for next season," he noted.
Odera, who will handle Kenya Under-20 team for the Barthez Cup, said training camps will be held from next month to February and 14 players who did duty from this year's Junior World Rugby Trophy in Mexico will be in the mix again. He said opportunities will be given to players who have cleared high school during the training camps.
"We will give an equal chance for those who have cleared school to come and train with the rest of the team during the training camp,” he noted. Odera observed that the biggest challenge the sport is facing is funding and hoped that in the new year, there will be adequate funds for both Simbas and Kenya Under 20. “I hope we can get the money to run these two squads and enable us to have adequate preparation for international assignments," he noted.
