Injury scare hits Simba 15s camp
The national 15-a-side team, Tusker Simba XV, will this Saturday play Western Province at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town in their fifth match of the Vodacom Cup.
Two players, Cyprian Kuto and Isaac Adimo, will however have to await a late fitness tests to know whether they will be in the squad.
Fractured palm
Kuto, a Strathmore Leos winger, is suspected to have a fractured palm, while Kenya Harlequin’s Adimo is struggling with some pain in his knee and has undergone scans to determine the severity of the injury.
Adimo has been key in the side, playing at fullback in their historic first ever win in the tournament against Eastern Province Kings, and against SWD Eagles.
The two will have to wait till Thursday for their fate to be determined, as management waits for test results.
While the team has shown massive improvement with each passing game, the real challenge starts this weekend when they take on Western Province.
Easy play
The fixtures in a way have favoured the side, as they started off with the teams considered to be easier to play. In the three coming weeks, they will come up against the top three sides on the Southern Section log.
After Province, the team will play Sharks, and then round off the league phase against the Free State Cheetahs.
The three fixtures will provide the ultimate test to the side as they prepare for the 2014 CAR Cup, which doubles up as the 2015 World Cup qualifiers.
Their chances of making the playoffs are slim, as they are six points away from fourth placed SWD Eagles with three hard games left on the cards.
Head Coach Jerome Paarwaters is expected to yet again rotate the squad as he seeks to test all possible combinations.
A friendly match against Western Province has also been planned for the same day as the Bamburi Rugby Super Series final, which will give Paarwaters a chance to field his best side against a quality team.