Kenya Simbas will close out their Rugby World Cup qualifier repechage against Germany on Friday at Stade Delort in Marseille, France, with both sides already out of contention for the 2019 tournament.
The match is effectively a dead rubber after Kenya suffered a second straight loss, falling 42-17 to Hong Kong a week after a 65-19 defeat to Canada. Those results ended the Simbas’ bid to reach Japan.
Canada and Hong Kong are now left to fight for the 20th and final place at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Canada, who lead the round-robin standings on 10 points, need only a point against Hong Kong to qualify.
Canada strengthened that position by beating Germany 29-10, leaving them on the brink of securing a place in Pool B alongside New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia. Hong Kong, meanwhile, must beat Canada by 57 points and deny them a bonus point to keep their own qualification hopes alive.
Kenya’s fixture against Germany is scheduled for 6pm, followed by Canada against Hong Kong at 9pm.
Coach Ian Snook said the Simbas want to finish strongly despite their elimination. He said Germany would bring “real physicality” and added that Kenya needed to sharpen its tackling and work better at the ruck.
Snook said there were positives to take from the Hong Kong defeat, including improved attacking play and a better scrum. But he said errors, indecision and weak tackling continued to hurt the team, while poor line-out decisions also proved costly.
He also indicated that his future with the side would be discussed after the team returns to Nairobi next week. “I have no plans as yet but we should know that after sitting down next week with Kenya Rugby Union in Nairobi,” said Snook.
Kenya and Germany met in May in a tense Test in Nairobi, where fly-half Chris Hilsenbeck landed a last-kick drop goal to give Germany a 30-29 win.
