Seasoned Namibia stand in Kenya Simbas path to history

The nation awaits with bated breath.

It’s now only a few hours to know whether Kenya Simbas will finally break the ice and secure the historic World Cup ticket.

For the umpteenth time, it’s Namibia fondly known as Welwitschias, who stand between Kenya Simbas and the coveted ticket to the 2023 Paris Rugby World Cup.

Undoubtedly, it’s the biggest match for Kenya Simbas coach Paul Odera and his battalion of 28 players when they face Namibia in the 2023 Paris Rugby World Cup Africa qualifier on Sunday at Stade Maurice David, Aix-en-Provence, France.

The clash that doubles up as Africa Rugby Gold Cup final where Namibia are the defending champions, kicks off at 10pm Kenyan time.

Frenchman Ludovic Cayre will handle the final assisted by referees Anthony Woodthorpe from England and Scot Ben Blain.

Namibia, who remained in 24th place in the latest World Rugby ranking, have dominated to qualify in the last six consecutive Rugby World Cup finals alongside automatic qualifiers South Africa.

However, they are yet to go past the pool stages of the world event.

The only other team to have qualified for the Rugby World Cup is Zimbabwe in 1987 and 1991.

In the 1987 Rugby World Cup, Zimbabwe was invited as the African entrant. No other African countries were invited, as South Africa was disqualified from the tournament due to a sporting boycott adopted by the international community in response to apartheid.

Came close

Zimbabwe succeeded in getting through 1991 Rugby World Cup qualifying, and hosted the Africa qualifications.

Kenya came close to qualifying for rugby’s world biggest show when they lost to Namibia and Zimbabwe on aggregate, having tied on 10 points each in the 2014 qualifier.

Kenya had stunned Namibia 29-22 in their opening match before beating hosts Madagascar 34-0. They only needed a point from their duel against Zimbabwe to qualify but ended up losing 28-10 to blow away their chance.

It will be not only a ferocious battle of forwards as the Kenya Simbas, who scaled two places to 33rd in the latest World Rugby ranking, hope to match the superior Namibia side in all facets of play.

It goes without saying that Kenya Simbas will have to refine their game especially their scrums and mauls if they are to tame Namibia’s hefty forwards.

Kenya could just have an upper hand in running play, which they should capitalise on to keep Namibia out of their 22 metre zones. It will be critical for Kenya Simbas to avoid giving out penalties in their red zone.

It was noticeable that the Simbas failed to contest the mauls well against Algerians who they beat 36-33 in the semi-final on Wednesday as compared to Namibia who dominated Zimbabwe in their 34-19 semi-final victory.

Kenya met Namibia last at World Rugby's Stellenbosch Challenge semi-final on November 14, last year. The Simbas blew away a 24-19 half time lead to fall 60-24.

“There is no escape. We must be clinical at the set pieces, particularly the scrums,” said Odera, who hopes to have winger Collins Injera and centre Vincent Onyala in the final battle. The duo didn’t play against Algeria after they got injured against Uganda in the quarter-final on Saturday.

Among the Namibian forwards to look out for are  Torsten van Jaarsveld, who plays for French Top 14 League side Bayonne, Aranos Coetzee and Johan Retief, who feature for Currie Cup Premier League sides Free State Cheetahs and Griquas respectively.

Unattached back row Janco Venter, who was named man-of-the-match during the semi-final against Zimbabwe wll play a key role for his team. 

The winner of Sunday’s final will book their place in Pool “A” at next year’s Rugby World Cup in France, alongside the hosts, New Zealand, Italy and Uruguay.

The runners-up will have a last chance to qualify in a repechage.