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Kenya to play British Army, Romania ahead of Rugby World Cup repechage

Tony Onyango and the Kenya Simbas are looking to qualify for the Rugby World Cup for the first time. APO Group via Getty Images

Kenya have secured two more fixtures to prepare the Simbas for the Rugby World Cup Repechage in France in November.

Coach Ian Snook's side will now face the British Army and Romania in games that bookmark previously announced matches against World Cup-bound Namibia and a South African semi-professional side, Loftus 200.

"I am very happy about these developments because playing these teams will give us true test of what to expect," Snook told KweséESPN.

"We need to try out several things in these build-ups so that we go to France in good form.

The Simbas will start their build-up schedule with games in Nairobi against the British Army on Oct. 17, Namibia on Oct. 21, and Loftus 200 on Oct. 28. They wind-up their preparations with a game against Romania in Bucharest on Nov.3 before they head to France.

"I am excited because I think one of our challenges during the Rugby Gold Cup and World Cup qualifiers was lack of friendly games," Snook said.

"But having four build-up games will put us in the right conditioning ahead of the repechage in France."

At the repechage in France, Kenya Simbas will play against Hong Kong, Germany and Canada in a round-robin format for the final berth at Rugby World Cup 2019.

The winners of the repechage will join New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia in Pool B in Japan.