NAIROBI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya national rugby team head coach Ian Snook has called up five uncapped players in his team which departs on Wednesday for Morocco to play in the Rugby Africa Gold Cup in Casablanca on Saturday.
Kenya U20 international Edmund Anya and Colman Were will get their first shot at the national team playing as hookers, with the trio of Mohammed Omollo, Zedden Marrow and Max Kang'eri all starting from the bench.
Overall, Snook has made four changes to the side that played in last month's match against neighbors Uganda, securing a 34-16 Elgon Cup away win in Kampala.
Kenya is among the six countries that are competing in the tournament, which is played on a home and away basis, with the winner joining South Africa as the continent's representatives at the World Cup in Japan next year.
The second finisher in the tournament will play in a four-team playoff in November with teams from Asia, Oceania, Europe and the Americas, with the winner also going to the World Cup.
The Gold Cup campaign started one week ago with Zimbabwe hosting Morocco in an entertaining 23-23 draw.
Defending champions Namibia lead in the Gold Cup standings after an emphatic 55-6 defeat against Uganda in Windhoek.
Snook believes his team is capable of winning the Gold Cup and warned his players they will be selected on merit and must put in their best showing in each leg of the tournament, which ends in August.
"We have young and experienced players and hopefully they will all gel well and be able to challenge for the ticket to the World Cup," he said.
The Kenyan Rugby Union (KRU) also announced on Wednesday that it had signed a two-year contract with Kenya Breweries, which will see the Kenya national team, the Simbas, wear the Tusker brand in the tournament. This ends fears the KRU was to pull the team out of contention, citing a lack of funds and government support.
"We are glad to unveil this partnership today with Tusker who have been our long-term partners and we hope that we will bring success with it," said KRU Director of Rugby Thomas Odundo in Nairobi on Wednesday.
The deal will allow Snook to focus on training knowing the team's welfare is catered for.
However, Snook will miss the services of Jacob Ojee, Martin Owilah, Vincent Mose and Isaac Adimo who are unavailable due to a variety of academic and work commitments. Oscar Simiyu also misses out through injury, and his place on the bench has been taken by Moses Amusala. Erick Kerre is also recalled to the squad after missing out on the Uganda fixture.
Also bidding for an unprecedented fifth consecutive title will be defending champions Namibia, who have their next fixture against Tunisia in round two on Saturday.
The Rugby Africa Gold Cup features Africa's top six nations that have not already qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Namibia is highest ranked team in the current World Rugby rankings at 24, followed by Kenya (28), Uganda (37), Morocco (38), Tunisia (42), and Zimbabwe (44).