Kenya's Simbas have closed the gap on table leaders Namibia after humbling Tunisia 67-0 in the Rugby Africa Gold Cup 2019 World Cup qualifier played in Nairobi on Saturday.
It was a convincing win for the Kenyan team as they picked up their first bonus point in the competition. Kenya kept their 100 percent unbeaten record to move to 17 points, three behind in-form Namibia.
The hosts scored 11 tries and six conversions to send a strong message to their tournament rivals.
Kenya 7s star Willy Ambaka, who was making his debut, scored two tries, while skipper Davies Chenge, Andrew Chogo, Jacob Ojee, Elkeans Musonye, Darwin Mukidza, Martin Owilah, Peter Karia, Mohammed Omolo and Tony Onyango were other scorers.
"The result is good. We did a lot of good things on the pitch and now we shall need to see if we shall make changes for our game away against Namibia next weekend," Kenya's head coach Ian Snook told KweséESPN after the game at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi.
"I thank the coaching staff for giving me an opportunity to feature against Tunisia," added Man of the Match Owilah. "It was a good game and our positioning was great."
Kenya captain Chege added that the team are already looking ahead to their next clash.
"We came into the game looking for five points and I am happy we got them," he began "We are looking forward to the game against Namibia because it will decide who qualifies straight to the World Cup/"
Tunisia's coach Jaco Stoumann remains optimistic that his side can avoid relegation.
"Kenya is a good side," he began, "but we shall go back and work hard so that we beat Morocco and avoid relegation."
"This has been a very difficult match because we were facing a strong team," added Tunisia skipper Haithem Chelly, "but we managed to push ourselves and we have learnt something."
The champion of the Rugby Gold Cup will earn direct qualification to the 2019 World Cup, while the second-placed team will battle through the repecharge competition to take place in France.