Kenya hire New Zealander Ian Snook as new head coach

New Zealander Ian Snook was officially unveiled as the Kenya Rugby 15s head coach on Thursday.

The 67-year-old was assigned the immediate task of qualifying the Simbas for next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan.

He replaces South African Jerome Paarwater who left the team last December after spending five years on the job.

The New Zealander will be assisted by fellow countryman Murray Roulston.

The appointment marks Snook’s first foray into coaching a national side. Nevertheless, he holds decades of high profile experience with clubs in Europe, Asia, South Africa and New Zealand.

Immediate task

Snook, who arrived in Kenya on Monday, has only two months to prepare the Kenyan team for the African World Cup qualifiers.

“We are here with the intention of qualifying Kenya to the World Cup for the first time. Obviously, there is a lot of hard work to go before we play in the qualifiers,” said the New Zealander.

“It is up to us to do the right things over the short period of time to get the most out of it, and I am confident that working slowly that is what will happen.”

The Simbas will begin the six-nation African qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup in Morocco on June 23, before hosting Zimbabwe a week later.

The other competing African nations are Namibia, Tunisia and Uganda.

The winner of the qualification tournament will automatically qualify for the World Cup finals, while the second-placed team will compete in a runners-up competition along with a team from America, Asia and Europe for a second chance to reach the event in Japan.