Rio 2016: South Africa Came to Slay! But Kenya, Not So Much!

South Africa’s Rugby team looks great as they head into their highly anticipated clash against Great Britain later today. The Blitzboks secured a spot in the semi-finals after beating Australia 22-5. As second favorites in winning it all, pundits believe the South Africans will have an edge over the European side.

On the downside, Africa’s other hopeful, Kenya, had a disappointing showing as they lost all their games. Kenya came in as a contender after winning the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, but their total annihilation left many fans searching for answers.

According to Rodgers Eshitemi of Standard Digital, Michael ‘Tank’ Otieno, Kenya’s former head coach, it was poor management, core selection and mental preparation lead to the teams collapse.

As per the article, Otieno said, “New Zealand and Great Britain are not in a different class because they are teams we have beaten before. We went to Rio as gold contenders, but problems began from the team’s selection.”

He explained: “I think they should have molded the team around those players who won the Singapore tournament. We got it all wrong in the formation, from the defensive line-up to the attack. The question is, why did they leave Oyoo and Wanyama behind? Instead of the two on-form youngsters, they opted for three players who were coming from serious injuries.”

At the HSBC World Rugby Sevens, Nelson Oyoo and Frank Wanyama scored critical tries to secure Kenya’s victory against Fiji.

Featured Photo: Cecil Afrika of South Africa breaks away from Javier Carrion of Spain (Image: Gavin Barker/ BackpagePix)