NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 17 – Despite a thunderous 42-0 defeat of Nakuru in their Kenya Cup tie over the weekend, Kabras Sugar RFC coach Carlos Katwa says their next opponents, Kenyatta University Blak Blad, are not to be taken lightly.
The students caused the biggest shock of matchday six, defeating last year’s losing finalists, Menengai Oilers, 17-16, to collect their third win of the season.
In their tie at the Nakuru Athletic Club, the defending champions were ruthless, running riot against their hosts, courtesy of tries by Jeanson Misoga, Eugene Sifuna and Dan Sikuta as well as conversions and a penalty by Ntabeni Dukisa.
Nonetheless, Katwa believes there is room for improvement in their backline.
“I am very happy for this win but you see now it is back to the drawing board. Our next opponents (Blak Blad) are tricky as well so we’ll have the chance to review the previous game as well. We need to improve on our defence…it is the pinnacle of our campaign this season. We want our defence to be the one speaking for us,” Katwa said.
Having a played a much less than current leaders Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and second-placed Oilers, Kabras lie second on the log with 24 points, unbeaten from the five matches they have played so far.
Despite stating their intentions to tighten their grip on the Kenya Cup, Katwa – whose side lies six points adrift of KCB – insist that the millers are a team in transition and are bound to be rusty at times.
“As you know, we are integrating the senior players from the national team. They are only just drifting into the team. So you see they haven’t gotten into the right rhythm yet…they are still rusty. But, even with the rustiness, it’s still building the confidence of team (when we win matches). We have really worked well on our rotation…there are players who started the season who have been granted sabbatical leave to recover and recuperate,” he said.
Sharpening the arsenal
Meanwhile, Nakuru coach Simon Wariuki says his focus this week will be to improve on the forward line ahead of their weekend match against University of Nairobi’s Mean Machine at UoN grounds.
He is hopeful that his boys will be fit and fired up for their tie against the students, who lost 31-7 in their last match against Homeboyz.
“Definitely, I’ll make some changes in the forward department. I always say without the engine, the car can’t operate. Whether you have good backs but your forwards can’t handle the pressure then that’s a huge problem. I am going to have to make some difficult decisions and by the time we go to Mean Machine, I hope we will have rectified on these mistakes,” Wariuki said.
Both sides are tied for seven points on the log with Nakuru lying ninth, one place ahead of the three-time Kenya Cup champions.
Wariuki noted that he expects the students to pose the same kind of challenge as Kabras.
“I did not expect the result (against Kabras) that we had. I think they outsmarted us mentally. Next, we have Mean Machine who are equally a difficult team…they can also challenge you mentally. So, we will go back and do some digging and see where we can improve and get some progress out of that,” he added.
