Weekend Games

The big game turned out not to be so big after all. Cameroon did not come to the party at all and we walked all over them. Their disjointed travel plans and attempts to ensure they were the underdogs did not deter out boys to the task at hand. From their warm-up it was pretty clear they were not going to be a challenge. Their routine vaguely resembled a high school warm up for a Damu Pevu side! They did not work up a sweat at all and it was obvious they were here to try and slow the game down. Our boys on the other hand went through a very professional looking warm up that prepared them for the game.

The game itself. The two sets of forwards were fairly evenly matched in open play, however Kenya were dominant in the set scrums and unchallenged in the line-outs. Cameroon did not even bother to compete in the line-outs. The backs however were a mixed kettle of fish. Ours were outstanding in offense and scored tries even out of nothing, seemingly effortlessly. Theirs could hardly string two passed together and were prone to knock-ons and forward passes.

Points to note as follows. The fact that there was hardly any competition meant that we did not get to work on any patterns of play. Simple moves broke the gain line and our finishers hardly made a mistake once that happened. With no contest in the line-outs, we still were caught not throwing straight which is a worry. The line-breaks through our centres also cost us thirty to forty metres every time and that is also a worry. Next game is in Tunis in a fortnight and in a game where everything went right, the technical team will have their hands full trying to sort out the unknown. Cameroon had lost only 16-10 to Tunisia at home, but that actually tells us nothing. We will still be going into this game eyes wide shut!