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Photo : Simiyu Wangila and Joshua Chisanga in a post-match prayer session.

Kenya XVs Team manager Simiyu Wangila appeals for support right from the Ministry of Sports, the government and private organizations to come in and support Kenya Rugby union.

 “To win on Saturday and in future the backs stop at preparation and when I talk about shoe string budgets don’t expect to rip where you have not saw, it takes a lot of resources and this is why I said the union requires a lot of support In running some of these programs because after Namibia it will be a shame if this team comes back and just be left like that until April next year.”

 “Remember that there are teams that will be playing in November and December and it’s therefore very important that we look for resources and those sponsorships so that this team is kept together if we have any chances of competing at competitive levels.”

 “Now you can look at the progress of this team, it is about the preparation, you prepare hard and win easily but these games that we have been playing are not easy. “

Simiyu Wangila pointed out that the squad has been technically operating on half standard facilities and half baked equipment.

“Technically again we need facilities. We also need motivation.”

“A player that goes in that pitch and makes that flag fly high needs motivation. You cannot expect a player to get into the pitch and do all the preparations without being motivated. What I mean is financial motivation, material motivation and they have families that depend on them. “

“These are the things that we say the difference between champions and not being champions is a very thin line and we’ve got to go back to the basics, can we meet the basics? Can we be able to still play at Kasarani and train at Kasarani? Can this team be able to use the facilities that our wonderful government has? So those are the things that I say that it’s up to us to decide whether we want to play at the big stage and that is why in a very short time we were able to show you that listen if it is Spain, there were doubting Thomases, we beat Spain and also against Portugal there were many doubting Thomases, we made it. Against Tunisia which was a very technical side remember we also beat them. “

“This tells you that if you invest in this team then this country has a lot of reasons to smile in terms of investments so it’s about preparation. “

“For us we are begging and asking for support right from the Ministry of Sports, right from the government, right from the private organizations like what KBL has done for the Kenya 15’s, what Kenya Airways is doing for the 7’s team and what Safaricom and Meagre have done for rugby in Kenya.”

“If we combine all these resources together, it is the young men of this country that we want to develop and build. And if you talk about jobs, these are open markets for jobs because when you sponsor and you have got transparent leadership then everything boils down that our young people will be disciplined and occupied through sports. “ Simiyu Wangila concluded.

The Kenya Rugby Union board needs more support because it’s not a cheap thing to run and maintain a rugby fifteens squad, it’s quite an expensive affair.