Kenya Simbas coach Jerome Paarawter says minimal tweaks will be carried out in the team as they conclude a high-performance tour in South Africa this week.
The Simbas have been down south for the past month and Paarwater believes they are taking shape ahead of the Rugby World Cup qualifiers in a fortnight in Kampala, Uganda.
“The team has made steady progress in the past month. We have polished up several facets of play, and still have 10 days to come up with new tactical plays,” said Paarwater.
The South African tour was an eye-opener in terms of squad selection, with several players putting their hands up.
“There has been healthy competition for positions in the team. Choosing the final 28 to face Uganda won’t be a walk in the park. We will be looking at some fringe players in the next couple of days... to see if they can feature at the qualifiers,” said Paarwater.
Stormers Rugby skills and performance analyst Labeeb Levy has joined the training sessions and matches, helping with developing the players’ skills.
“Labeeb is no stranger to us; he has been with the team before and has helped them with basic core skills,” observed Paarwater.
The Simbas have played five matches in South Africa, drawing with South West District Eagles 17-17, losing 42-24 and 75-19 to the Junior Springboks, beating Tygerberg RFC 62-22 and going down 43-14 to Boland RFC over the weekend.
They conclude the tour with matches against the Super Barbarians on Wednesday and Friday before returning home over the weekend for a brief pre-departure camp on July 1-2.
They travel to Uganda on July 3 and play the hosts on July 8. The winner will face African champions Zimbabwe or Morocco in the semis.
The other half of the draw sees Namibia up against Senegal, and Algeria taking on Côte d’Ivoire.
The semifinals and the final are slated for July 13 and July 19, respectively.
