Chipu suffered a 11-63 loss to Uruguay in their World Rugby U20 opener on Tuesday 9th July. Uruguay settled into the match very early landing what would be the first of nine tries in the second minute of the match. They scored five tries in the first half against Chipu’s three points that came off a penalty for 3-39 half time score.
Despite the 63-11 score at full time, it was evident that Chipu had settled into the match a bit better in the second half as compared to the first. There were moments of individual brilliance spotted from the side but they were quickly watered down by Uruguay’s defense line that was not giving Chipu any moment of peace.
Samuel Were’s charge down on Uruguay’s kick resulted in him pouncing on the ball and landing Chipu’s solitary try. Dominic Coulson who’d earlier kicked in two penalties missed this conversion for the score to read 11-63.
Head Coach Paul Odera mentioned that some of the areas that need to be worked on as they prepare for Brazil are the set-pieces, tackling technique, Chipu’s depth in attack and the team’s self-belief. “Of all these areas, we shall prioritize what we feel we can tweak as we prepare for the next matches,” said Odera.
“We always want to finish stronger in the second half and this was evident from today’s match, our bench has proved to be as powerful as the starters. Most importantly, this exposure for the players in this stage is very important.” Concluded Odera.
In a post-match interview, Vice-Captain Dominic Coulson credited Uruguay’s performance and also highlighted areas where Chipu can improve on.
#Chipu‘s Vice Captain Dominic Coulson shares his sentiments on the team’s performance against @RugbyUruguay.
Next match is against hosts @brasilrugby early Sunday morning at 1:00am.#WorldRugbyU20s
Video: @WorldRugby pic.twitter.com/NOgJEVeo8f
— Kenya Rugby (@OfficialKRU) July 9, 2019
They meet hosts Brazil on early Sunday 14th July morning at 1:00am EAT in the second Pool A match.
Photo: Fotojump
