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| Alex Olaba (C) of Kenya tackles Ed Jenkins (R) of Australia during their rugby match on the first day of the Dubai leg of IRB's Sevens World Series on Decembre 5, 2014. |
Head Coach Paul Treu once again failed to impress in the HSBC Sevens World Series as Kenya dropped to the Bowl competition of the Dubai Sevens.
The former South African coach has struggled considerably since he took charge of the team last season, and judging from the string of results, the outlook does not look good for the team.
Kenya lost 29-12 to Australia in their first game of the day and went on to lose 38-0 to England in the second, squashing any chances of the team making it to the Main Cup quarter-finals of the tournament. They were due to play USA in the last group match last evening.
In lackluster performances, Kenya failed to complete their one-on-one tackles, which saw them concede ten tries from their first two games.
England scored six tries through Phil Burgress, Lewis-Pratt, Dan Norton, Jeffrey Williams and Tom Bowen, while Australia scored four tries through Cameron Clark, Edward Jenkins and James Stannard.
Kenya's lack of possession in the games made the situation even worse, because they were forced to defend for long spells.
Not only did the Kenyan players have problems in the defensive display, but when they had the ball, they could barely string three passes together before the ball was lost in a turnover.
Kenya went into contact unnecessarily and did not spread the ball wide to force the opposition to open spaces in their defences. This performance could be attributed to the lack of key players, with Oscar Ouma and Horace Otieno having joined Sri Lankan clubs, while Biko Adema is injured and Collins Injera is out due to personal commitments.
Treu will have to work a magic trick for the side to perform to the levels of his predecessor Mike Friday, who seems to have gotten the best out of the team.
Should Kenya continue performing poorly, then they risk losing their core status in the Sevens World Series through relegation.
In the other matches of the day, Fiji and Argentina secured their places in the quarter finals after both recorded back-to-back wins. While Fiji saw off France and Brazil in convincing fashion, Argentina had to work harder for their spot, including a last gasp win over France, thanks to a try from Patricio Fernandez.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Cup will get back to action, with league leaders Strathmore taking on Impala at the Impala Grounds.
Both teams have shown good form in the opening games of the league, and this game is bound to be a cracker as Impala seek to inflict Strathmore's first loss.
In the other matches of the day, defending champions Nakuru RFC will play Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad at the Kenyatta University, which will also be the same venue for Mwamba versus Catholic University.