The Kenya 15s team line up before facing Hong Kong in an international test match at the RFUEA Ground on August 26, 2017
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 26 – The national 15s team will start their 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup campaign away to Morocco in June next year as they seek to clinch a spot at the 2019 World Cup.
The Kenya Simbas, who will also be looking to reclaim the Africa Gold Cup that they last won in 2013, will then host Zimbabwe in Nairobi a week later after the Morocco clash before hosting neighbors Uganda on July 7.
The continental showdown will then take a four-week break to allow teams compete at the Rugby World Cup Sevens that will take place from July 20-22 in San Francisco, USA.
The chase for Africa supremacy will resume on August 11 when the Simbas host Tunisia in Nairobi before traveling away to Namibia on August 18.
The stakes are definitely high as next year’s championship will serve as Africa’s qualifying round for the 2019 Rugby World Cup set for Japan and the Kenya Rugby Union has adjusted its top tier competition, the Kenya Cup which kicked off this weekend (Saturday 25 November) to a one off format aimed at allowing more time for the Simbas to prepare for the qualifiers.
The Jerome Paarwater charges have already started their pre-season that saw them take part at the Cup of Nations tournament where they unfortunately lost all their matches against Chile, Russia and hosts Hong Kong in the tournament played early November.
-Kenya Simbas fixtures-
Morocco vs Kenya 23/6/2018
Kenya vs Zimbabwe 30/6/2018
Kenya vs Uganda 11/07/2018
Kenya vs Tunisia 11/08/2018
Namibia vs Kenya 18/8/2018
-By Kenya Rugby Union Website-
