John Mbai – Strathmore Leos coach lets us in on the impact Floodies 2017 had on his team. He also goes ahead to explain what his targets are for the 2017-18 Kenya Cup. Are they achievable? Read on…
“I will definitely rally any team I coach to play in the 2018 edition of Floodies. It is an important XV tournament, set at a timely point in the Kenyan rugby calendar. The atmosphere around the 36th edition – #Floodies2017 was also electric especially for those who had been starved off XV rugby for more than 6 months. This tournament is a must watch for coaches who like planning ahead. It is also important for players who are keen on understanding how the opposition is likely to play at Kenya Cup. You will notice that we put up a more polished performance against Quins in the Plate Final than we did against Mean Machine. The match ended 33-29 in Quins’ favor but we picked vital lessons that would have never been picked up if we opted to not play at Floodies 2017. If we went into the season without this important gauging, we could have been at pains to play catch up. A lot of our players are playing top flight rugby for the first time but we will work to ensure that they stay within competitive range. I have always assured them that they are talented & very knowledgeable in the sport. They should therefore be able to employ these qualities in our first 4 Kenya Cup matches. We start our Kenya Cup campaign with a match against reigning Kenya Cup & Floodies champions KCB. Floodies provided us an oppotunity to watch KCB play. We know what they will be bringing to the party. The situation will be a little different when we travel to Kakamega on week 2 to face Kabras who never played at Floodies. Kisii took part in Floodies. We therefore know what to expect on week 3 of Kenya Cup. Our 4th match will be against Mwamba. They never participated in Floodies, but by then, we’ll have figured out how they engage the opposition. Our aim this season is to stay within competitive range & that informs why we are approaching the first 4 matches with utmost concentration.”
