Kenya Rugby League appoint Mbai as new technical director

The Kenya Rugby League Federation (KRLF) appointed John Mbai as its technical director, the sporting body confirmed on Wednesday.

Mbai has previous experience as the coach of Mwamba and Strathmore Leos. He has also coached Mean Machine and is a former international player.

His mandate is to grow the game from the grassroots level and to implement structures that will aid development and talent identification.

KRLF chairman Richard Nyakwaka welcomed the appointment.

“He brings a wealth of experience and tactical acumen which is needed to grow the game. He is one of the bright young coaches we have in the country,” Nyakwaka was quoted as saying on the-star.co.ke

“A good number of our players don’t make the grade in the Kenya Rugby Union pyramid and those are the individuals we are looking at to grow our player base and ensure that the popularity of the sport grows.”

On the rugby union side with all major sport worldwide currently halted due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, it means teams like Kenya will have little to no match preparation heading into the 2022 Rugby World Cup qualifiers.

Playing other international teams will be key in the progress of Kenya who are ranked 32nd in the world.

Kenya would have currently been competing in the Rugby Africa Cup before it was suspended. Rugby Africa are set to announce a return to competition strategy on Thursday.

Kenya currently have 1348 Covid-19 infections, with 405 recoveries and 52 deaths. The East African nation had its first reported case of Covid-19 on March 13.

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo