KCB anticipate tough test from Quins

Rugby Federation Union of East Africa (RFUEA) ground plays host when eight-time Kenya Cup winners Kenya Harlequin clash with seven-time cup winners and reigning champions KCB in matchday 2 of the 2021 rugby season. Quins come into the game on the backdrop of losing two consecutive games since rugby resumed in the country; losing against Kabras Sugar in the Sisimka Charity Cup and against Menengai Oilers in their first league game this season.

KCB on the other hand secured their first win of the season after having to dig deep in the second half to shake off a stubborn Strathmore Leos who had put up a spirited fight. KCB technical manager, Philip Wamae, gave his thoughts ahead of the encounter and an assessment of what they are trying to do in the opening weeks of the new season.

“It’s going to be a very exciting encounter considering how we were very lukewarm at the beginning of the league against Leos. So I’m expecting Quins to come out full throttle because they lost against the Oilers. I believe it’s going to be a great encounter and it’s going to be a very good chance for us to see where we lie in matters of our systems and structures,” he said.

Late tries in the second half from Geoffrey Okwach and Michael Wanjala helped the Bankers overturn the score against Leos to win the game 24-16. Ahead of the clash tomorrow, the defending champions have made five changes to the squad that played the first game and the team manager was quick to elucidate as to why that happened.

“What we normally do early in the season is that we usually use the first three to four weeks to ensure we get our combinations right and what a better time to do it than with the first two games of the league before it catches momentum. I believe it’s a very good strategy to ensure that we test and we try all the combinations so that when we get to the latter stages of the league we are not making major changes to our system,” he noted.

“I’m sure after doing our reviews and our structure checks, I believe we are ready now and we are just taking one game at a time,” he concluded.

The game between Quins and KCB kicks off tomorrow at 1500 EAT.