KRU has also described the World Under 20 Rugby Trophy tournament as a success for Kenya, the government, and the union.
Kenya Rugby Union has begun designing a Talent Identification Programme that will enable the union monitor current school games and clubs to flag potential players.
The program is part of KRU’s bigger plan of establishing a larger pool of future young stars through an age-grade rugby system.
“Initially the plans will be to identify, develop and support potential players in U20 and U18 divisions and increasing number of high-quality playing opportunities to expose the youngsters to national and international standards,” said Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) chairman Alexander ‘Sasha’ Mutai.
He added, “ We want to set the ball rolling for revival of the Kenya Schools Combined Team programme and are upbeat of the impending success of Kenyan rugby through the initiative.”
Mutai expressed confidence in Kenya’s Under 20 team, Chipu’s huge potential showcased in the just concluded World Under 20 Rugby Trophy tournament- emphasizing the need to expose the players to high-pressure and competitive tournaments.
He described the Tournament as a very top-level test for Chipu players who had warmed up for just a month and competed against opponents who had been training for over a year for the battle.
“The tournament has taught us very crucial lessons we are keen to urgently address. Our youngsters put up a good performance and in every game they recorded significant improvements in both attacks and defense. They had the power and grit to push harder in most first halves but could not sustain the pressure to the end to deliver victory,” said Mutai.
