Kenya vs. Zimbabwe 12-06-2010

Kenya takes on Zimbabwe today in the opening match of the Victoria Cup. The Victoria Cup is a three nation affair with Uganda being the third team. The teams will play each other on a home and away basis with the winner of the series being the team with the most points. The matches pitting perennial rivals Kenya and Uganda will also double up as Elgon Cup matches, with the winner on points aggregate taking the trophy.

History has it that Kenya has played Zimbabwe ten times, with Zimbabwe winning eight of those ties. The last three games has seen Kenya win two and Zimbabwe one, all won on home soil. Zimbabwe was a rugby powerhouse in the past, the best in Africa, outside of South Africa. They have represented Africa twice in Rugby World Cups (1987 and 1991). Their fall in standards can be directly attributed to the political situation in Zimbabwe as their team was composed mainly of white players. And in the same period, Kenyan standards have risen considerably. This leaves the battle at hand to be extremely mouth watering. Kenya are currently ranked 43 in the IRB World Rankings with Zimbabwe at 47. How do I see this pan out then?

The game will be an intense battle of the forwards. In the past Kenya avoided playing a forwards oriented game. But in the past decade or so, realisation has dawned that you cannot win a game without dominating in the forwards. And that is where this game will be won or lost. I do not see us being very strong in the set pieces, for reasons I will talk about next week, however I see us being very forceful in the loose, and in the support play. Zimbabwe will be strong in the set pieces, but will battle in the loose as they tend to play a closer game than ours. The backs will be fairly evenly matched. The absence of the sevens players will not really be felt but one or two would be useful.

Sheer home ground advantage will give us this one by 8 points.

I have been recovering from various afflictions and ailments this past week. By next week I hope to be at my usual best. Disappointment though that one weekend you're in a comfortable room in Panafric Hotel and next weekend you're sharing a bed in Shalom Guest House. That is Rugby In Kenya for you! Children of a lesser god methinks.