The last time we hosted European opposition in a test match, Moi had a full head of hair and probably full set of teeth too.
Uhuru was barely a year old (Both the person and the state of the nation). We had the senior Kenyatta and Odinga running things, by this time they were best of friends, weren’t they? 99% of us here were not even thought of..
That was 51 years ago, almost to the date, when the East African combined side hosted Wales at the RFUEA grounds, on May 12th 1964, losing 26-8.
This will be an equally historical fixture for Portugal, as it will be the first African tour for the Os Lobos in a quarter of a century. The last time they visited these parts of the world was in 1990, when they played Namibia in Windhoek.
Their captain for this fixture, Vasco Uva will be hitting the 100 caps milestone for his country. Now that the magnitude of this fixture, at least historically has sunk in, let us delve into it.
The Os Lobos (Portuguese for Wolves) currently occupy the 23rd spot on the World rankings, 9 spots ahead of the Simbas. The side features in division 1A of the European Nations Cup, the second tier of the 6 nations, where they finished fifth last year.
I haven’t watched them play, though in my defence I tried watching a recent encounter they had against Georgia in February (where they lost 20-15 ) on Youtube here. Lets just say it was like taking high doses of Piriton through the eyes. Mnazushaga Zuku hapa bure tu…
Against Georgia (ranked 14th), in the little bits I was awake, the Os Lobos did well to stand up against their opposite numbers in the forwards. They however were unable to deal with the pace that the Georgians packed in the backs, especially at the wings. The three tries Georgia scored came from the backs.
The Portuguese were very clinical from the boot, which kept the game a closely fought out affair, their 15 points coming from penalties.
That is my two cents on the Wolves, I however expect them to be highly physical in the forwards and look to dictate and slow down the tempo of the game, seeing as the altitude here doesn’t favour them much.
Head coach Jerome Paarwater, alongside his technical bench, have picked a very exciting match day 23 for this test. The perfect mix of experience and youth. The return of veterans Vincent Mose and Kelvin Omiyo to the fifteens fold is a real welcome sight.
What excites even more is finally seeing the likes of Jacob Ojee and Sammy Oliech, getting their first caps. Alongside Peter Karia who captained the under 19 side a little under 2 years ago. Robert Aringo, Darwin Mukidza and Emmanuel Mavala have all had past experience with the Simbas, having been part of the side that took on the Vodacom Cup last year, this will however be the trio’s first cap.
Brian Nyikuli takes up the captaincy on Saturday in the absence of Wilson Kopondo, Nyikuli is part of a very exciting back row that features the marauding Chisanga at number 8 with the no nonsense Okombe at 6.
The rest of the forwards make for great reading, with the try potent Lilako partnering Warui and Amusala in the front row. Line out maestro Oliver Mangeni forms the lock combination with Emmanuel Mavala.
The one area that brings me joy and expectation in almost equal measure, is the back three, where Jacob Ojee and Darwin Mukidza will line up on side of that man Oliech. If these three turn up and play the way we know they can, we will be in for a great show.
Add to that the fluid Adimo and Lyle at half back, with the explosive duo of Kelvin ‘Kichwa’ Omiyo and Fabian ‘Rango’ Olando at the centre of the park and we have a real formidable side here.
We should look to play more in the backs, where I think our strength lies. Our forwards will probably be more mobile than theirs, thus we should look to play very quick ball at the breakdowns.
Remember, the climatic conditions will be on our side thus I expect this encounter to open up in the last 15 minutes. If we will be ahead at this point, then we should go ahead and put real daylight between us, if not, then it will be the perfect time to catch up.
It will not be an easy fixture, with world rankings on the line, we need to be at our optimal best if we are to get anything here. Portugal have promised to throw everything at us, we don’t expect anything less.
So lets meet at the RFUEA, to witness this historical match and cheer our boys on to victory, si ni sawa?
KWISHA…Nimeruka Nje!!
