Rugby: Kenya Simbas pick first Currie Cup win in South Africa

Kenya Simbas players celebrate their victory against Zambia during their Rugby Africa Cup match at the Nyayo national stadium in Nairobi on July 11, 2021.[photo courtesy]

Kenya Simbas registered their first win at the Currie Cup First Division after seeing off Border Bulldogs 35-12 in Alice, South Africa.

Simbas had failed to win any of their opening three matches and were keen to end their winless streak against a side that had also failed to win in their opening four matches.

The Simbas lost their opening match to Falcons 51-14 on April 9 before going down to Zimbabwe 22-21 on April 23 and Griffons 66-33 on April 30.

Timothy Omela bagged a brace as Brian Waraba, Vincent Onyala, and Darwin Mukidza each crossed over the white wash to guide kenya to victory.

"We played with a lot more confidence and we backed ourselves to keep the pressure on Border Bulldogs. Our defence was much better, our set pieces were crucially more accurate in the scrums and line-outs. Great performance all round," said Simbas coach Paul Odera.

Kenya are using the competition to prepare for 2023 Rugby World Cup qualifiers in July this year in France.

The 2022 Currie Cup First Division is the 84th edition of the Currie Cup.

 As the second-tier of the competition, it is running alongside the 2022 Currie Cup Premier Division.from April to June in a single round-robin format, following the realignment of the South African domestic rugby union calendar to dovetail with the northern hemisphere and the United Rugby Championship, which features four South African sides.

This year’s competition features ten sides, seven from South Africa, namely Eastern Province Elephants, Griffons, Valke, Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs, SWD Eagles and Leopards and teams from Georgia (Black Lion), Kenya (Simbas) and Zimbabwe (Goshawks).