Kenya’s rugby fifteens national team fondly known as Simbas will kick off the last round of the World rugby cup qualification against the United States of America (USA).
According to World Rugby, the final qualification tournament will determine the 20th and final qualifier for Rugby World Cup 2023 in France.
The Paul Odera-coached side will be seeking to qualify for the global bonanza for the first time in the country’s history.
In the round-robin fixtures released Hong Kong, Kenya, Portugal and USA will face each other in a round-robin format with the team accruing the most competition points securing the last spot at France 2023.
The much-awaited fixtures will be played over three match days from 6-18 November at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai.
The latest World rugby men’s rankings have been used to determine the decisive tournament’s match schedule.
Kenya Simba who are currently ranked position 33 globally will kick off their quest for a World cup ticket against a 19th-placed USA.
The eventual winner and final team to join the Rugby World Cup 2023 adventure will take their place in Pool C alongside Wales, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia.
Simbas missed out on the direct qualification ticket but were offered a lifeline to once again attempt to qualify for the World Cup via the Repêchage route following their humiliating loss to Namibia in the Africa Cup final.
In their quest to earn the direct ticket, the Kenya Simba showcased their talent in the quarter-final against rivals Uganda with an impressive 42-7 to book a semi-final date with Algeria.
The Paul Odera charges then topped that performance with a nail-biting 36-33 win against Algeria to send themselves to the final where they would face Namibia who had dispatched Zimbabwe 34-19 in the other semi-final.
However, the national team fell short of their goal with a 36-0 loss to Africa champions Namibia.
Namibia has been a hard nut to crack for Kenya, having lost 12 times overall, this being the 7th consecutive loss.
Repêchage is the final stage of the qualification process Kenya’s last appearance in the last fixture was in 2018 when they lost all their matches against Germany, Hong Kong, and Canada.