Jerome Paarwater insists Kenya Simbas’ best is yet to come

Kenya Simbas Head Coach Jerome Paarwater is a man on a mission. The tactician returned as the Kenya Simbas Coach on March 16 following the resignation of Paul Odera. His first assignment was to assist the Simbas to improve rankings in the Currie Cup matches in an attempt to see them qualify for the 2027 Rugby World Cup set for Australia.

So far, Paarwater and his assistants Curtis Olago and Carlos Kyatwa have shown great potential in re-building the Simbas. The Simbas missed their opening Currie Cup matches against Boland Cavaliers and Leopards. They would later fall to San Clemente (33-22) and Eastern Province Elephants (18-7) before bouncing back to win 30-26 against Border Bulldogs. They would however lose to Namibia Windhoek Draught 35-28 in what was their last away match.

Back in Kenya, Simbas defeated the struggling Zimbabwe Goshawks 48-7 in the match played at the Nakuru Athletic Club on Saturday 20. Speaking after the win, a visibly impressed Paarwater said that his aim was to lead Simbas to qualify for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

The Simbas lost 36-0 to Namibia during the 2022 Rugby Africa Cup finals played in France, a tournament where the winner was guaranteed a direct ticket to the 2023 World Cup. They would then drop to the repechage tournament where they had to defeat the USA, Portugal, and Hong Kong in a round-robin format in Dubai. They lost to the USA (68-14), Portugal (85-0), and Hong Kong (42-14).

Kenya Simbas whitewash Zimbabwe Goshawks to register second Currie Cup win

“When Kenya Rugby asked me if I am available to come and help I said yeah, only if I come for four years and we put a plan together for four years to try and qualify for the World Cup,” Paarwater told Mozzart Sport.

The former Stomers’ forwards coach also heaped praises on the Simbas, noting that the growth is impressive. The tactician was handed a new squad and he had to ensure they gel to birth success.

“We are happy about the win. We started in Cape Town when we beat Border Bulldogs and we were unlucky last week against Namibia, but I am just glad of the progress of the team and sticking to the program, stuff that we have worked on. There is always a larger plan but it feels good to win. We also worked on our defense and forward play including mauls,” Paarwater noted.

He previously led the Simbas between 2013 and 2017, where he brought them close to qualifying for the 2015 World Cup where they lost on an inferior aggregate to Namibia despite having beaten Namibia. He also led Kenya to its highest-ever ranking at position 22 in the World rankings in 2016, as well as winning the Africa Cup trophy in 2013 and claiming the scalps of heavyweights Namibia and Zimbabwe.

His next assignment will be to guide Simbas past Valke in a Currie Cup match scheduled for May 27 at the RFUEA Grounds.