Kenya Simbas' coach Jerome Paarwater believes his charges have to improve their discipline and accuracy in their lineout ahead of the Rugby Africa Cup semi-final against Algeria on Wednesday.
The Simbas were made to toil by a belligerent Senegalese outfit before running out 34-17 winners at the Nammbole Stadium in Kampala on Saturday.
Twice in the encounter Kenya were reduced to 14 men with flanker Thomas Okeyo and prop Ephraim Oduor sent to the sin bin, leaving Kenya at a disadvantage for long spells—something not lost on the coach.
“Yes, It's not very good to play with a man down as the Senegalese capitalised on it to score twice. The boys must be told not to get on the wrong side of the referee in our next match,” noted Paarwater.
On the line-out, the South African tactician said the accuracy will need to improve.
"We lost a couple of throws in the first half but as the match went on, we got better. We will look at improving that facet of play when we resume training on Monday," he added.
Paarwater expressed satisfaction with the overall play especially the forwards who laid the platform for the side to score five tries.
"Remember this was our first match in seven months. Our competitors have been playing build-up matches and we have not had that opportunity. The boys were rusty, especially in the first half but they kept their composure to win the match.”
Skipper George Nyambua believes his charges can step up a gear in the semis. “This being our first match, I believe we will get better and improve in all facets of play in our next match.”
It was sweet revenge for the Simbas, who had lost 19-20 to Senegal during the pre-Rugby World Cup qualifiers at Nyayo Stadium in 2021.
Vice captain Eugene Sifuna led from the front, scoring a brace while winger Beldad Ogeta scored twice with Bryceson Adaka scoring one.
Senegal's tries were scored by Lamine Sylla and Khadim Cisse scored a try both of which were converted by Ismail Barrada who also added a penalty. Kenya led 19-10 at halftime.
In other results, champions Namibia beat Burkina Faso 38-9, Algeria defeated Ivory Coast 32-12 while hosts Uganda crashed out of the tournament after losing 22-20 to Zimbabwe.