Carling Currie Cup a good platform to prepare Simbas

Kenya will field the national men's rugby XV side, Kenya Simbas, in the Carling Currie Cup First Division competition, head coach Paul Odera has confirmed.

The team is preparing for the Rugby World Cup African qualifiers scheduled for France in July and the tactician says participation in the South African competition will help the side prepare better for the qualifiers.

"The team needs to play against more competitive sides than the teams we will be up against in July and this tournament offers such an opportunity.

Kenya joins South Africa's Carling Currie Cup First Division

From the experience we had playing the same sides before, the squad has to be in good shape. We should have been in strength and conditioning camp for ten weeks before heading to South Africa but we will do the beat with the time we have," Odera offered.

The local based players have been in training for a fortnight, meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays for conditioning and skills sessions.

"A squad of 35 local based players will be selected from the initial squad for the South Africa assignment. The finer details are yet to be concluded but the team is likely to be stationed there for the three months. The travelling members will be named at the conclusion of the Kenya Cup in March. This gives a chance to players who might improve within that period a chance to make the team," Odera further revealed.

The seven local provincial teams that will be joined by Georgia, Kenya and Zimbabwe in a the brand-new competition, include the divisions' defending champions, the Leopards, Griffons, South Western Districts, Boland, Eastern Province, Border and the Valke.

"We will be looking to improve our tackling a great deal. Work on our decision making in different situations and get better in our set pieces ahead of the qualifiers," the tactician added.