•Adema, who was appointed recently, said plans are underway to meet the objective and get the best possible young players in the country.
•He said the long-term vision will be a feeder programme for the Kenya Simbas, Kenya Sevens and Chipu national teams.
Kenya Under-15 rugby coach Biko Adema says he will work with regional development officers to unearth rugby talent in the country.
Adema, who was appointed recently, said plans are underway to meet the objective and get the best possible young players in the country.
"This is a journey and we have started engaging various parties to identify talent and nurture them from a young age,” he noted.
He said the long-term vision will be a feeder programme for the Kenya Simbas, Kenya Sevens and Chipu national teams.
“The national 15's programme is under one structure so we want to be providing players for all our national squads for the various international assignments,” observed Adema.
The former Kenya Sevens and Kenya Simbas International did not elaborate on when the programme will begin.
Sources at the union said the programme will start in April with further camps in August and December as most students will be on holiday during the period.
The former Nondies' fly-half said the first big tournament will be the Turi Sevens at St Andrew's in Nakuru in June.
“Ideally, that will be our first big tournament and it will be used as a yardstick to select players going forward,” said Adema.
The alumni of St Mary's School said they would be keen to see the various skill sets of players from the recommendations of the regional development offices before putting them in a database for selection to the team.
“ The players will go through various tests once we select them. We want to align them to the standards that the Kenya Simbas head coach has agreed for all teams," he noted.
Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) chairman Alexander Mutai said one of his campaign manifestos needs to be introduced at primary school for the country to compete with powerhouses like South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, France and England, a view shared by Adema.
“For now, we will work with what we have but it will be a game changer if the sport can be played at that level," he revealed.
He said his experience working at places like Banda School and Braeburn as well as playing at the highest level will serve him well in the new position.
"I have had the privilege of playing for the national team as well as interacting with several coaches and coaching age-grade rugby and I believe am ready for the challenge," said Adema.