Less than three weeks to the start of the Barthes Cup in Zimbabwe, Kenya's Under-20 team preparations are in total disarray.
Coach Simon Jawichre said they face a race against time to select a squad amid meagre resources from the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) owing to alleged wrangles between the chairman Alexander Mutai and embattled secretary Ray Olendo.
Jawichre, who was appointed in February, said his technical team had come up with a plan to select the country's best players but lack of money has seen the preparations stall in some areas.
"Right now my players are scattered all over in Nairobi, Kakamega, Kisumu, Mombasa and some parts of Eastern.
"By now we would have selected a provisional training squad of 40 players but we have not been able to do that because we can't travel with the rest of the technical to where the players are,” he added.
A provisional squad of 64 players was selected in February and should have been whittled down to 40 by the end of last week and the final 28 days to departure.
There were plans to play Eric Shirley Shield teams or varsity sides in readiness for the tournament but according to the tactician, he doesn't see it happening.
He added: “We are going to be facing teams who are well prepared and have done their selections right. Our opponents have also had build-up matches yet we have done nothing.”
The Catholic University Monks coach said the country's biggest undoing over the recent years is inadequate preparation time for the tournaments.
"Speak to the coaches who have been there, they will tell you the same thing. We have the talent pool of players but our preparation phase is not good enough.”
Chipu, who were runners-up last year on home soil to Zimbabwe, open their campaign against Tunisia on April 20 before facing host Zimbabwe four days later.
When contacted Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) chairman Alexander Mutai said they were expecting funding for the team's preparation but due to wrangling within the Union, the money was diverted elsewhere.
"There is not much we can do right now. The team will have to train with the available resources. I would have preferred the team to be in a better state but due to what is happening now, we are in a complicated situation," he said.
Kenya lost the final to Zimbabwe last year, going down 28-7 at Nyayo Stadium.
The winner of the tournament will secure qualification for the 2024 World Rugby U-20 Trophy —the 14th edition of the second-tier age-grade rugby competition.
This year, the tournament will be held in Scotland for the first time, specifically at the 7,800-capacity Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.
