Kenya Simbas renew rivalry with Zimbabwe in Currie Cup

Kenya Simbas players celebrate after scoring a try against Uganda in a past match. [Rugby Africa]

The Kenya Simbas and the Zimbabwe Goshawks renew their rivalry in the Currie Cup Mzansi Challenge when they face off today at the Nakuru Athletic Club in the Central Rift Valley city of Nakuru, some 156km North West of Nairobi.

This will be the second ever Currie Cup clash between the two sides, the first one ending in a 22-21 victory to the Goshawks last year in April in Cape Town, South Africa.

It will be recalled that the Simbas trailed 0-17 in that fixture after the Goshawks had gone ahead through converted tries from Biselele Tshamala and Taku Chieza as well as a Hilton Mudariki penalty before they responded with two penalties from Jone Kubu who also converted Derrick Ashiundu's try to bring the score to 17-13 before a pushover try gave the Goshawks a 22-13.

Another Kubu penalty and an unconverted Elkeans Musonye try brought the scores to 22-21, a thrilling game of rugby on the day.

It is also worth noting that the Nakuru Athletic Club played host to the Victoria Cup fixture between Kenya and Zimbabwe on Saturday 7 September 2019, a match that ended 36-14 to the Kenyans and this may serve as a motivating factor for the Simbas on Saturday, as they back on the support of the very partisan and vociferous crowd at the NAC, which incidentally, also plays host to the Great Rift Tens that is marking a return after a COVID19 enforced hiatus.

The Simbas come into this clash placed 8th on the log with 7 points off 1 win and 5 losses while the Goshawks are bottom of the pile on 3 points, winless in their 6 outings to date.[Additional reporting by KRU]