Moment of truth as Kenya face Samoa in U20 World Cup opener

Felix Chacha (with ball) of Kenya’s Chipu tackled by Charles Mwadeghu of Uganda during their Rugby Africa U20 Barthes Trophy match at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on April 09, 2022. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

Kenya Chipu head coach Curtis Olago is confident his charges will rise to the challenge posed by Samoa when the two nations clash  today (Saturday) at Nyayo Stadium when the World Rugby U20 Trophy gets underway in Nairobi.

Olago was speaking after naming his match day squad for the opening clash against the Oceania nation.

The former Kenya international expects a massive physical challenge from the Samoans.

“We have prepared well for this tournament. We understand the level of the competition that we are playing in, and the calibre of the opponent we are facing but we believe that the boys will play their hearts out before the home fans.

“We are aware of the physical threat that Samoa poses but we play to our strengths and take our chances, not only on Saturday (today) but throughout the tournament,” said Olago.

The KCB Rugby tactician added that they are going all the way and with the backing of their home fans, they believe they will do better.

“We are going to use the Barthes Cup as a lesson and work on the many mistakes we made and iron out our game tactics because with the World Cup, everything must be on point,” said the Kenya Cup champion.

Chipu will play Samoa U20 today from 12pm after Scotland play the opener of the 2023 global junior rugby event against African Barthes Cup champions Zimbabwe from 10am.

Chipu, who are in Group B together with Asia champions Hong Kong, Samoa and Spain, will be looking forward to turn around the disappointment from their Barthes Cup defeat to Zimbabwe two months ago, and lock Laban Kipsang believes Kenya is ready for a rebirth.

The Kenya Harlequin star said the feeling at their camp has been good, as they have worked on their mistakes witnessed when they finished second in the Barthes Cup.

“We are working as a team to make Kenya proud. This competition is going to expose many of the young lads to intense level of rugby and we cannot wait to show the world Kenyan rugby,” said Kipsang.

“Individually, I want to learn new skills from these great teams as well as challenge myself to play even better than before,” said Kipsang.

Kenya captain Michael Wamalwa said: “It is a great feeling captaining this team on home soil, and in front of our home fans. This is one memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life. The fact that we are donning the national colours in front of our own fans ... many long for this moment and we are honoured to be representing the country on the global stage.”

The U20 Trophy makes its highly anticipated return after a four-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.