Nairobi — National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) president Paul Tergat has tipped women's rugby in Kenya to grow in leaps and bounds in the coming years due to the abundance of young talent.

Tergat was on hand to witness the girls' team kick off their Commonwealth Youth Games campaign on Sunday afternoon with a 20-12 win over Wales at the ongoing tournament in Trinidad and Tobago.

He said the performance of the youngsters is evidence that there is more where that came from in terms of talent in Kenya.

"I am happy to be able to see the girls doing very well and we are very excited. This is the future...they are young and they have done very well. It is their first time out of the country and I believe that (this group) are part of the big future that we have as a country," Tergat said.

He added: "When we see the performances of the girls' Sevens team, it shows that we are diversifying. They have played really well...and I think they have one more game to go today but we can see that there is a lot of potential there."

The five-time World Cross Country champion encouraged young talents across the country to believe in themselves and remain disciplined if they are to realise their potential.

"They have to believe in themselves. I was trying to encourage them that they are representing the country at a bigger stage and have a bigger opportunity to go into the senior level. They must have the discipline and the perseverance if they want to develop their talents moving forward," he said.

The fifth edition of the youth games features hundreds of athletes aged 14-18 years from 71 Commonwealth countries, who will be battling each other in nine disciplines including archery, rugby 7s, swimming, squash, boxing (men only), lawn bowls, athletics, weightlifting and tennis.