The Resolution Impala Saracens trio of Sammy Oliech, Robert Aringo and veteran Vincent Mose contributed handsomely to Kenya Simbas whipping of Tunisia 46-15 after a slim 14-12 half time lead.
Sammy Oliech – Wings for Tries
Sammy Oliech is carved a niche for himself at the fullback position in the footsteps of other great last men bred at Impala Saracens. These include former Kenya captain Innocent Simiyu and his current replacement, Vincent Mose. The calm youngster, new to many fans, is turning heads with his ease of breaching defences.
His debut against Portugal was marked, where Kenya beat Portugal 41-15, he scored a try and his assist of his mate Robert Aringo could well have been a second. He was part of a glowing try movement, from deep in Kenya’s red zone, in Zimbabwe in Kenya’s 20-28 loss. Today, he was part of the Simbas dominant back three that included wingers Darwin Mukidza and Jacon Ojee. He was in sleek fashion today.
Oliech scored a brace, the first one, a real gem, gave Kenya its second lead (12-9) after he received an outside pass from Ojee. He beat two defenders staying infield by the width of his toe, in the 5m channel. In the 2nd half, the fullback would support openside flanker Michael Okombe and collect a pass off him to canter to his 2nd try to bring up the score to 29-14.
Aringo – Try Line hungry
Stocky scrum half Robert Aringo replaced his former schoolmate Lyle Asiligwa early, in first half, due to an arm injury. He didn’t disappoint bringing in a combative approach to the base play, on offence and even defence. He may have to improve quick ball execution, but his composure and base control made up. He even put in two box kicks for good measure, to remind how far he’d come from his backrow days. His try, for the 37-15 scoreline, from the base of a quick ruck was apt reward for his efforts.
Mose – Old is gold
The current Kenya XV vice-captain came off the bench late in the 2nd half. The Kenyan forwards had by then matched their much bigger counterparts. A ruck in Tunisian 22 created platform for attack. Mose’s position against marking forwards was a mismatch. He could almost be heard at the stands calling for the ball from Aringo. A body swerve into space was all he needed to be at the try line to dot the team’s 6th try to raise the score to 44-15. His signature finger salute was up even before he broke the line. What confidence…
In all, a good day out for the Kenyan Sarries.
